Successful Representation of eBay Korea in Employee Invention Compensation Case

2014-10-31

Lee & Ko’s IP Practice Group acted as legal counsel for eBay-Korea in obtaining a ruling affirming eBay’s position in a significant case decided by the Seoul Central District Court on September 18, 2014. The case involved a lawsuit filed against eBay by a former employee for nearly USD 70 million in compensation for various alleged inventions that the former employee claimed to have participated in conceiving during the period of his employment at eBay-Korea Co., Ltd.’s predecessor company, Gmarket, Inc.   Lee & Ko was instrumental in formulating litigation strategies, conducting invalidity analysis regarding the patents relevant to the alleged in-service inventions of the plaintiff, and directing  factual investigations, as well as developing the legal arguments that led to the court delivering its verdict in favor of eBay.  Our client in this case, eBay Korea Co., Ltd. is the Korean subsidiary of eBay, Inc., which is a multinational Internet consumer-to-consumer business operating an online auction and shopping website. The well-known Korean online shopping and auction company, Gmarket, was acquired by eBay, Inc. in 2009 and renamed as eBay Korea.