LG Electronics wins patent dispute with Whirlpool

South Korea's leading consumer electronics maker LG Electronics said Wednesday that it has won a patent dispute against the Michigan-based home appliance maker Whirlpool over technology used in refrigerators. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) ruled in favor of LG Electronics over patents on technology called water and ice dispenser used in refrigerators, citing Whirlpool's failure to prove that it invented the concept of a fridge dispenser earlier than the South Korean firm, according to an e-mailed statement by LG. The PTO's decision was expected to give an upper hand to LG Electronics in other patent disputes with Whirlpool, the tech firm said. The South Korean firm has been engaged in three patent disputes with Whirlpool in the U.S. over refrigerator-related technology. The patent war started after LG Electronics sued Whirlpool for patent infringement in the District Court of Delaware. Whirlpool asked the PTO in 2008 to resolve the priority of invention in response to LG's suing, but the U.S. patent agency did not accept Whirlpool's claim.