The US had its own LFP manufacturing pioneer, A123, but the company struggled with mass production and was sold to a Chinese company after factory fire and manufacturing defects, which IMO would have been tolerated in China.

So it's not just the patent system that is holding back the West. China was also able to get ahead in the battery race by blatantly ignoring the international trade rules under China's WTO obligation against illegal gov't "export subsidies," "local content rules," "forced IP transfer" via "forced joint venture," or outright ban on foreign competitors to protect local, weak players like CATL/BYD. China hasn't necessarily been too shy about their mercantilist ambition past 10 years, aka Made-In-China 2025.