Westinghouse to appeal in battle against KHNP, Kepco

Industry

Published: 20 Sep. 2023, 15:26 Updated: 20 Sep. 2023, 15:26

Westinghouse to appeal in battle against KHNP, Kepco

A reactor unit at the Barakah nuclear plant in the United Arab Emirates built by Korea Electric Power Corporation, or Kepco [YONHAP]

The intellectual property battle over nuclear reactor design between Westinghouse Electric and Korea’s state-run utilities now may head to an appeals court in the United States.

Westinghouse, a Pittsburgh-based nuclear energy company, said Wednesday that it will appeal the U.S. court’s latest decision to dismiss its lawsuit against state-owned Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and its parent company Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco).

U.S. court dismisses nuclear power lawsuit against KHNP, Kepco

David Durham, president of energy systems at Westinghouse, said the “dispute with Kepco/KHNP crosses multiple jurisdictions and covers two issues: compliance with U.S. nuclear technology export control requirements; and Kepco/KHNP’s long-standing obligations to comply with Westinghouse’s intellectual property rights that they agreed to contractually,” in an emailed statement Wednesday.

The “principal dispute” between Westinghouse and KHNP centers on the use of technological information on nuclear reactor design outside of Korea, according to the U.S. company.

“The decision by the U.S. District Court merely holds that export control enforcement resides with the U.S. government,” said Durham. “Westinghouse intends to appeal the decision.”

Durham further pointed out that “the [court] decision has no bearing on the ongoing arbitration proceeding” against Kepco and KHNP.

“The arbitration panel has confirmed that a final ruling is not expected until late 2025,” said Durham.

Westinghouse filed a lawsuit in the District Court for the District of Columbia against KHNP and Kepco in October last year for intellectual property infringement to block the company from selling nuclear reactors to Poland and other countries.

Westinghouse claimed that KHNP needs U.S. government consent to sell its APR1400 nuclear reactor overseas under Part 810, a U.S. export control regulation regarding the transfer to nuclear knowhow, because the plant’s design incorporates Westinghouse technology.

However, the district court ruled in favor of KHNP and Kepco on Monday, accepting the defendants’ argument that the authority to enforce the export restriction had been delegated exclusively to the U.S. Attorney General, and therefore, a private entity that is not the U.S. government is not legally entitled to enforce the restriction against KHNP.

Though KHNP and Kepco acknowledge they received assistance from Westinghouse in the early stages of the APR1400's development, they claim the core technology is domestically developed and free from U.S. export restrictions.

Apart from the court proceedings in the United States, KHNP and Kepco are currently pursuing arbitration over the intellectual property dispute with Westinghouse through the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board as well.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]