Seoul Semiconductor wins LED bulb patent litigation against Philcor

The US Federal District Court for Nevada has issued a judgment in favor of South Korean LED maker Seoul Semiconductor says that in its lawsuit alleging infringement of eight LED patents by LED lighting product retailer Philcor T.V. & Electronic Leasing Inc (trading as energyavenue.com).

According to Seoul Semiconductor, Philcor acknowledged that LED products used in the accused products were manufactured by several third-party suppliers and, although previously unknown to Philcor, it did not dispute that those products infringed Seoul Semiconductor’s patents. Philcor also did not dispute the validity of Seoul Semiconductor’s patents and agreed to pay past damages, as well as a license fee, in order to affirm its commitment to respecting the intellectual property of patents in technologies for high-voltage operation (Acrich driver), Acrich MJT (multi-junction technology; over-6V high-power chip), filament LED bulb structure, LED packaging, LED epitaxial growth, and LED chip fabrication.

Other enforcement actions against LED lighting retailers

Seoul says that it is continuing a series of enforcement actions to prevent the distribution of suspected infringing products in the LED lighting market.

On 2 March, it filed litigation in the Texas Northern District federal court alleging infringement of 10 LED patents by Service Lighting Electrical Supplies Inc – the operator of America’s largest online retail channel for LED bulbs (1000bulbs.com).

On 8 May, Seoul initiated a lawsuit in the California Central District federal court alleging infringement of eight LED patents by Bed Bath & Beyond Inc, an American chain of big-box retail stores with 1550 stores. The accused products include various LED bulbs supplied by Feit Electric.

At the end of August, Seoul filed a lawsuit in the Texas Eastern District federal court alleging infringement of 15 LED patents by retailer Fry’s Electronics – accusing UCD technology (KSF, which enables significant improvement of color gamut in LCD displays such as TVs and smartphones) as well as optical lens technology.

Seoul has also delivered notices to manufacturers of various LED lighting products (as well as their distributors) where it suspects infringement of its patents, warning them that they need to stop using LEDs and any other components that may infringe upon Seoul’s patented technology.

“To create fair competition in the market and make sure that intellectual property rights are respected, manufacturers as well as distributors should take active precautionary measures not to manufacture or sell infringing products,” says Nam Ki-bum, executive VP of the Lighting Department at Seoul. “We will do our best to encourage a fair-competition environment, in which young entrepreneurs and small entities can succeed in the business world, relying on fair competition in the market and respecting hard-earned patented technology.”

See related items:

Seoul Semiconductor sues TV retailer Fry’s Electronics for LED patent infringement

Seoul Semiconductor files three patent lawsuits and announces Acrich licensing program

Tags: Seoul Semiconductor LEDs

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