A US trade judge hearing a patent dispute brought last year by German chemical giant BASF and its cooperation partner Chicago-based Argonne National Laboratory, which owns the technology, has confirmed that Belgium-headquartered Umicore infringed the companies’ patents covering nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cathode materials by importing their material into the United States.

Judge Thomas B. Pender of the International Trade Commission (ITC) found that the use of Umicore's NMC cathode materials in electrochemical cells or batteries by third parties in the US infringes the BASF and Argonne patents. At the same time, he rejected Umicore's arguments that the patents are invalid and unenforceable.

In its spring 2015 filing, BASF also claimed that Umicore had sold the technology to third parties, including the US arm of Japan's Makita Corporation.

BASF said at the time the patent breach had cost it billions of dollars in potential sales and deprived it of the ability to compete as a supplier for electric car platforms expected to be launched this year and next.

In its initial response to the lawsuit, Umicore called the complaint "flawed" and “erroneous.”

The Commission, which can block the import of any product deemed to infringe a US patent, now has to decide whether to review the judge's ruling. A final decision could be expected by June of this year.

Kenneth Lane, president of BASF's global catalysts division, said the German-based group is “very pleased” with the decision, which he said “provides a clear confirmation that our competitor's commercial products infringe BASF and Argonne's patented technology.”

In 2012, with investment aid from the US Department of Energy, BASF commissioned a plant at Elyria, Ohio, to produce NMC cathode precursor materials. It also conducts research and development on the battery materials in the state of Ohio.

Umicore said it remains “steadfast in its view that the scientific evidence presented in court precludes the possibility of any patent infringement and plans to present its view to the Commission.”