OREANDA-NEWS. April 25, 2012. Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC, President: Shoji Muneoka) hereby announces that it has filed a civil lawsuit against POSCO, a Korean steel company, and its Japanese subsidiary, POSCO Japan Co. Ltd. (collectively POSCO, etc.) as defendants in the Tokyo District Court in relation to NSC's technology regarding Grain Oriented Electrical Steel Sheets (GOES).* In this lawsuit, NSC seeks compensation for damages and an injunction against the manufacture, sale, etc. of GOES by POSCO, etc. under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, etc., based on illicitly acquiring and using NSC's trade secrets, etc. 

At the same time, NSC has filed a civil lawsuit against its former employee, claiming that he was involved in the above illicit acquisition and use, etc. of the trade secret by POSCO, etc., seeking compensation for damages, etc. under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, etc.

NSC has also filed a civil lawsuit in the United States against POSCO and its U.S. subsidiary for infringement of certain of NSC's U.S. Patents, seeking damages as well as an injunction against their continued infringement of NSC's patents. 

Since NSC and POSCO executed a strategic alliance agreement in 2000, both companies have achieved results in many fields, including research and development, technology exchange and procurement of raw materials, and this alliance relationship remains unchanged. On the other hand, NSC and POSCO compete each other in the field of individual products; regarding GOES, although NSC has given warnings and requests to POSCO alleging misappropriation of NSC's intellectual property rights etc., NSC could not find a way to settle the issue. Therefore, NSC has decided to file these lawsuits. 

In order to secure NSC's advanced technology, the origin of its global competitiveness, NSC will continue to take robust action against acts of unfair competition. 


* Grain Oriented Electrical Steel Sheets (GOES). 
Electrical steel sheet is a High-Functionality Material with significantly enhanced iron magnet properties (magnetic properties) by undergoing a special manufacturing process. Electrical steel sheet is widely used in daily life as giron cores (iron materials in coils; cores) for electric generators in power plants, electrical products, hybrid cars, vibration motors in mobile phones. Unlike normal steel sheets, GOES's given properties are easily magnetized unidirectionally, and it is commonly used in iron cores for transformers which send electricity to each household. 

NSC, using its unique manufacturing know-how established through long-time research and development, manufactures and sells unrivaled good-quality GOES. This product, as an Eco-Product‚“ (Environmentally final friendly steel products), is widespread around the world, especially in newly developing countries where electricity demand is expanding rapidly.