Everlight Electronics (known as Yiguang Electronics in China) reported that the Federal Circuit Court of Michigan issued a final judgment on October 1, 2018, related to the company’s case against the Japanese firm, Nichia. The ruling dismissed Nichia’s the request for an appeal and reaffirmed the validity of Everlight’s US patents for white LEDs made from a blue emitter and a YAG-phosphor.
Everlight says that the court found Nichia’s US patents 5,998,925 and 7,531,960 invalid. The ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) came after two previous appeals, and Everlight says it won the final patent lawsuit. Everlight pointed out that since April 20, 2012, Nichia has patented two YAG white LEDs (US 5,998,925 and US 7,531,960), and filed a patent lawsuit in the Eastern District of Michigan.
After twelve days of deliberation, on April 22, 2015, the jury found that Nichia’s patent claims were invalid. On appeal, the judge presiding over the Eastern District Court of Michigan, on January 25, 2016, ruled that Nichia’s patent was not progressive and not enforceable, thereby reconfirming the jury verdict. After the Eastern District Court ruling, Nichia replaced its legal representation, and this time appealed the case to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). Then, the court again found the Nichia’s patent invalid.
The director of the Everlight’s intellectual property division, Mr. Lin Xianjia, indicated that the most important purpose of a patent right is to protect the innovation and research results and encourage the development of the industry. Mr. Lin Xianjia added that Everlight should be both unyielding and unremitting in terms of protecting its patents, and should commit themselves to fair competition.
