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News

27 February 2007

 

ITC adopts exclusion order against Epistar's MB LEDs; will review whether OMA and GB LEDs also infringe Lumileds patent

Philips Lumileds Lighting Company of San Jose, CA, USA says that the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has adopted the recommendation by administrative law judge Sydney Harris in January for an exclusion order to prevent Epistar Corp of Hsinchu, Taiwan and others importing its MB I and MB II metal-bond (MB) AlGaInP LED chips, packaged LEDs, and boards containing them into the USA.

This accompanies the ITC adopting Harris’ ruling that US patents 5,008,718, 5,376,580 and 5,502,316 (owned by Philips Lumileds) are valid and enforceable, and that Epistar’s MB I and MB II products infringe Lumileds’ 718 patent.

In addition, in response to a petition by Lumileds, the ITC has decided to review whether Harris’ initial determination correctly interpreted certain terms in the patents, whether Epistar's omni-directional mirror adhesion ( OMA I and OMA II ) and glue bond ( GB I and GB II ) AlGaInP LEDs also infringe certain claims of the ‘718 patent, and whether the exclusion should also encompass these LEDs. Philips Lumileds is also seeking exclusion of products that use these LEDs too.

The ITC has requested additional briefing in the coming weeks regarding certain issues, as well as on the remedy and proper scope of exclusion. It is expected to issue its final determination on or before 8 May 2007.

After that, there will be a 60-day presidential review period during which any exclusion orders can be vetoed or modified. Epistar will be required to post a bond based on the value of its infringing LEDs for any importation during the review period. However, Epistar has said that any exclusion order would only become effective after the review is over in early July.

See related items:

Judge's Initial Determination favours Philips Lumileds in patent infringement battle

Round two: Epistar responds to Philips Lumileds

Visit: http://www.philipslumileds.com