Nichia reports that it settled a patent lawsuit in Germany in a case going back to 2010. Back in September 2010, Nichia initiated a patent infringement lawsuit in Germany against Taiwanese LED manufacturer Harvatek Corporation. The lawsuit alleged that Harvatek‘s white LED products “HT-V116TW”, “HT-U158TW”, “HT-T169TW” and “HT-P178TWU-PQPS-DG”, which were distributed in Germany, infringed its YAG phosphor patent EP 0 936 682 (DE 697 02 929). Nichia sought a permanent injunction and damages for the alleged infringement.
Nichia noted that as a result, the Düsseldorf District Court in the first judgment of March 29, 2012 (docket number 4a O 184/10) and the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal in the second and final ruling on January 20, 2017 (docket number I-2 U 41/12) found infringement of Nichia’s YAG patent in Germany by Harvatek, thus, confirming Nichia’s claims. Based on this final judgment, Nichia says it and Harvatek were able to end the legal dispute in Germany related to Nichia’s YAG patent.
Nichia also reported that Harvatek made a significant payment to Nichia as a solution for damage claims. This compensation took into account further Harvatek products in addition to the previously mentioned four LEDs.
Nichia concluded its statement about the settlement saying that it “seeks to protect its patents and other intellectual property rights and takes actions against alleged infringers in any country where appropriate and necessary.”
