Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. and Seoul Viosys Co., Ltd. reported that they resolved patent litigation that the company filed against Kmart Corporation on behalf of Seoul and The Regents of the University of California.
Seoul filed the patent case in U.S. Federal District Court.
The case asserted infringement of eight patents based upon Kmart’s sales of Kodak/Spotlite-branded filament LED bulbs. The asserted eight patents in this lawsuit relate to critical structures of filament LED products, including LED epitaxial growth, LED chip fabrication, high CRI enhancement with combinations of phosphors, as well as technology for multi-chip mounting, omnidirectional LED lamps, and Acrich MJT.
Under the terms of the settlement, Kmart agreed to stop selling Kodak/Spotlite branded filament LED bulbs.
Other Enforcement Measures
In addition to the enforcement action against Kmart, Seoul sent warnings to manufacturers of LED filament bulbs and other LED lighting products to cease any infringement of Seoul’s patents.
The LED filament bulbs rapidly became popular in the decorative lighting market. Seoul notes that currently, numerous lighting manufacturers produce filament LED end products including Yankon Lighting, Topstar Lighting, Super Trend Lighting, and Longstar Lighting. Seoul says that its has already warned various LED lighting producers about its patents and requested that they immediately cease sales of any infringing.
Nam Ki-bum, executive vice president of the Research Center at Seoul, said, “We believe various LED lighting products currently on the market infringe Seoul’s patents. Now that we have resolved one litigation in this area, we will devote more resources to actively protecting our valuable intellectual property rights relating to LED products.”
He added, “Distributors should also take active precautionary measures not to sell infringing products. As long as such measures have not been taken, we will continuously take legal action against manufacturers and distributors relating to suspected infringing products in any countries where infringement occurs.”
