Steel Mills

US Steel Asserts Ownership of USSC Intellectual Property

June 9, 2016

A new wrinkle has developed in the dispute between US Steel Canada and its former parent US Steel.

US Steel is claiming ownership of USSC’s intellectual property and says the Canadian company cannot include it in the sale of its facilities.

USSC’s chief restructuring officer, Bill Aziz, said that without a clear title to the intellectual property, which includes the formulas and processes for its advanced high strength steels, the sales process will be impaired and make it difficult to secure a buyer.

“U.S.S.C. has historically been a significant supplier to the automotive industry of products including advanced high-strength steels,” Aziz said.

He added the company’s “production assets have excellent and well-demonstrated capability for the production of such steels and that the uncertainty with respect to potential restrictions on U.S.S.C.’s ability to produce advanced high-strength steels could diminish the value of U.S.S.C. and/or its assets in the eyes of participants in the (sales process).”

US Steel Canada has petitioned the court to decide which company owns the intellectual property. That motion will be heard in court on Monday, June 13.