LED Patents
Seoul Semiconductor has won a patent lawsuit against U.S.-based electronics maker Craig Electronics.
The Korea’s leading light-emitting diode (LED) specializer said on July 26 that the U.S. Federal Court ruled favorably for the company by acknowledging the validity of its five patents and patent infringement by the U.S. company.
The five technologies that Seoul Semiconductor filed a lawsuit against Craig Electronics for in July of last year included a core technology for producing LED chips called Epi, basic chip manufacturing technology, LED packaging technology, lens technology, and Back Light Unit (BLU) technology.
With the end of the year-long lawsuit, Craig Electronics should pay patent fees to Seoul Semiconductor. The exact amount of the patent fees, however, have not been revealed.
“The ruling will serve as a momentum for Seoul Semiconductor to gain a competitive edge with its technology,” an official at the company said, adding, “It is very meaningful that our victory in the latest lawsuit clearly shows our patents and technology have been recognized by the world.”
As the global LED industry is reorganized recently, the number of patent lawsuits between LED makers is increasing. Almost all of the ongoing LED patent lawsuits are known to have been between LED makers. Lawsuits of Craig Electronics with LED makers such as Harvatek, Kingbright, and Unity Opto are still pending in the U.S. Federal Court and the International Trade Commission (ITC). Nichia, a Japanese LED maker, won a patent lawsuit against Taiwan-based Everlite, the world’s sixth largest LED manufacturer, in a German court, and is still battling in a U.S. court. Seoul Semiconductor also filed a lawsuit against Curtis, a Toronto-based electronics company, for stealing the former's LED chip-producing technology.