The U.S. International Trade Commission(ITC) has made a preliminary ruling in favor of SK Innovation in a patent suit launched by battery rival LG Energy Solution.

In its initial determination on Wednesday, the ITC said SK Innovation did not infringe upon four U.S. patents on lithium-ion battery technology as claimed by LG Energy Solution.

In September 2019, LG Chem, which owns LG Energy Solution, launched the patent suit, after SK Innovation lodged one of its own as a tit-for-tat to LG’s original suit on trade secrets.

In February, the ITC gave a final ruling in favor of LG against SK in the trade secret case, issuing a limited ten-year ban on imports of certain lithium-ion batteries by SK. The ITC has yet to make an initial ruling on SK's patent suit against LG.

The final ruling in the patent case is due on August 2.