Durham, North Carolina-based Cree, Inc. reported that it has reached a confidential settlement in its patent infringement dispute with Harvatek Corp. Harvatek has agreed to a royalty-bearing, worldwide license to the Cree patents-in-suit. The licensing agreement ends the lawsuit between the parties. Under the terms of the confidential agreement, Harvatek will pay Cree a license issue fee and ongoing royalties.
The Cree patents that Harvatek will apparently license include U.S. patents: 6,600,175, 7,943,945, 8,659,034, 7,910,938, 8,766,298, and 8,362,605. The first three patents describe a white LED and a display using the white LED. The next two patents relate to an encapsulant profile for LEDs, and the sixth patent describes a device and method for mounting electronic components.
“Cree’s focus on innovation has led to sophisticated, energy efficient lighting products and a significant, broad-reaching, LED and LED lighting patent portfolio,” said Brad Kohn, vice president legal and general counsel for Cree. “Harvatek filed two meritless patent infringement countersuits in California. Both were quickly dismissed with prejudice and with no compensation paid by Cree. Cree’s original patent infringement lawsuit has now been settled, resulting in a license agreement that properly compensates Cree for the use of our IP.”
Cree concluded its press release by noting that after numerous years of intensive research and development, it has created an extensive LED patent portfolio with numerous patents still pending. Cree also pointed out that major LED manufacturers make use of its patented technology, and these companies and Cree have signed license agreements to secure rights to the Cree patents. Cree listed the licenses with other companies that it publicly announced on http://www.cree.com/About-Cree/Licensing/Licensees.
