Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) of Tokyo, Japan reported that on October 30, in the company’s first patent litigation against Yantai Shield Advanced Materials, it obtained a judgment recognizing the company’s infringement of its patent for red phosphor in China. This litigation involves the basic patent for red phosphor called CASN, SCASN, or 1113 phosphor.
Start of MCC Patent Litigation Against Yantai Shield Advanced Materials
On January 23, 2015, MCC filed a lawsuit in the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court alleging that products of Yantai Shield Advanced Materials infringed on patents (No. ZL200480040967.7, No. ZL200710199440.4, and No. ZL201110066517.7) for red phosphor, that MCC and the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) own. And for the patent lawsuit, Mitsubishi Chemical sought an injunction on the production and sale of phosphors in China and damages related to this litigation.
According to MCC, the court recognized its claim and ordered the injunction of Yantai Shield Advanced Materials and ruled that the company must pay a total of 6 million yuan (about 100 million yen) as compensation.
Mitsubishi Chemical noted that winning this litigation as well as having the court recognize its claim and ordering the injunction and compensation for damages, holds great significance for MCC. Furthermore, MCC says it has made a significant investment in the technology and worked to develop this business for many years.
Yantai Shield Advanced Materials Filed Invalidation Claim
In July 2015, Yantai Shield Advanced Materials filed a claim requesting the invalidation of the patents. However, the board rejected every aspect of the claim and recognized the validity of the patents.
Then, Mitsubishi Chemical obtained written decisions that went into effective April 7, 2016.
MCC warned that it shall not overlook any party infringing of any of its intellectual property, and will take every appropriate measure. Also, Mitsubishi Chemical also pointed out that those who want to use or sell LED packages that employ the red phosphor patents need to obtain licensing from the co-owner of the patent, NIMS.
