We have just learned the Rokit, a Korean 3D printer manufacturer, has filed a lawsuit in the Korean courts against its close Korean competitor and rival, Moment 3D Printers. While we are aware of only a few lawsuits between printer companies worldwide, this is the very first such lawsuit in Korea and, as far as we know, in Asia.
The basis of the lawsuit seems to stem from long simmering issues that have existed between the CEOs of these two companies and basically involve accusations of interference in business relations and design infringement. I contacted both CEOs for their opinions and reactions to this issue, and even though it is still very early, they were both kind enough to speak about it, albeit briefly.
According to Yoo SeokHwan, CEO of Rokit, they filed the claim seeking damages in the amount of 100,000,000 KWN (approximately $100,000 USD) for activities arising out of the departure of Park HeeWan from Rokit and the subsequent formation of Moment. Mr. Yoo stated, “Mr. Park and I were longtime friends; we worked together for seven years at Tyco. Then, he just quit and sent a two sentence email saying he was quitting, and he changed his cellphone number.” He went on to say that while he has objected to some of Moment’s business activities; he kept quiet and tried to be forgiving, but he finally felt compelled to act at the insistence of many of his employees at Rokit.
As for Park HeeWan at Moment, he said that he was caught by surprise at the sudden appearance of the filings. He said that there was no way that Moment had violated any of Rokit’s designs, and that much of Rokit’s tech is based on open source material. He also denied any allegation that he, or anyone at Moment, did anything to illegally interfere with Rokit’s business. “It is silly; I have spoken to our attorneys and they have assured us that the lawsuit is groundless.”
At this time, the lawsuit doesn’t seem to involve any issues that may impact any other printer companies, either here in Asia or elsewhere, and probably will be resolved quickly. Unfortunately, information is somewhat difficult to obtain, as the legal process in Korea is markedly different in its procedures than it is in, say, the United States where filings and court documents are public records, but we will be keeping a close watch.
