On May 23, 2017, Nitride Semiconductor of Tokushima, Japan, filed a patent infringement complaint against Rayvio Corporation based in Haywood, California. The company filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit alleges that Rayvio’s UV-LEDs infringe Nitride Semiconductor’s patent related to significantly improving the efficiency and performance of a UV-LED. The complaint seeks an injunction and damages for the claimed infringement.
In a press release about the infringement lawsuit, Nitride Semiconductor says that in 2000, the company developed
the world’s first high-efficiency ultraviolet LED (UV-LED). Then, it filed and was eventually awarded numerous international patents including patents in US, Europe, Asia, and Japan. Nitride Semiconductor further contends that these patents have allowed it to manufacture and sell high-efficiency UV-LED products in these countries before other companies.
Nitride acknowledged that many companies are entering into the deep ultraviolet LED business with wavelengths of 300 nm. For this reason, Nitride Semiconductor says it is seeking fair competition in this market; presumably with other companies honoring their patent rights.
