Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. reported that on Sept. 19, 2017, that it filed a patent infringement lawsuit with its affiliate, Seoul Viosys Co., Ltd., against Archipelago Lighting, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
In its infringement complaint, Seoul alleges that Archipelago Lighting is selling several LED bulb products including filament LED bulbs that infringe twelve patents covering aspects of Seoul’s Acrich technology. According to Seoul Semiconductor, these twelve Acrich patents include fundamental LED technologies, such as LED chip fabrication, LED epitaxial growth, LED packaging, filament LED bulb structure, LED driver technology for high-voltage operation, MJT (Multi-Junction Technology), etc.
Seoul Semi notes that increasing brightness in conventional LED products usually requires the connection of many LED chips through wire-bonding. However, the use of many LED chips connected via wire-bonding can result in other issues, including increasing the size and cost of the operating circuit and considerably increasing the manufacturing costs as well as increasing the number of defects.
Acrich Technology Enables High-Voltage, High-Output Product with Small Number of LED Chips
Seoul says its Acrich technology solves such problems by facilitating the design of a high-voltage product with a high power output that uses only a small number of LED chips. Seoul Semiconductor says its Acrich technology utilizes its LED driver technology to permit high-voltage operation, and its unique MJT technology allows mounting and the integration of numerous LEDs within a small area.
Seoul’s Acrich technology lets LED products operate using AC power without requiring a conversion to DC. Also, Acrich’s high-voltage configuration minimizes power dissipation and reduces the overall component count. This arrangement also reportedly maximizes the available space in LED products and facilitates a less complicated circuit design and a significantly reduced size and cost for the LED products overall.
Seoul contends that its Acrich technology been widely adopted for general lighting, as well as electronic products, such as televisions. Furthermore, the company says that the benefits of Acrich technology have been applied to street and commercial lights in countries throughout the world, including Korea, the United States, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. (Ref: Article list).
Dr. Ki-bum Nam, head of Seoul’s R&D Center and chief technology officer said, “We have extensively investigated copycat products infringing on Acrich technology with various LED TVs, general lighting and automotive lighting products. In order to protect Acrich technology, which has been developed with considerable resources over many decades, we will continuously take any and all legal action against infringers that disregard our valuable intellectual property.” Nam added, “Creating a fair market that respects intellectual property is important for all innovative entrepreneurs and businesses.”
