Seoul Semiconductor with Seoul Viosys Co., Ltd., reported that the U.S. Federal District Court for Nevada issued a judgment in favor of Seoul against Philcor T.V. & Electronic Leasing, Inc. doing business as energyavenue.com, a firm that sells LED lighting products.
Previously, Seoul filed a patent infringement complaint in Nevada District Court against Philcor asserting infringement of eight LED patents. In the court proceedings, Philcor acknowledged that several third party suppliers produced the LED products used in the accused products. Philcor indicated that the company was not aware of the alleged infringement, but the company did not dispute that the products infringed Seoul Semiconductor patents. Philcor also did not dispute the validity of Seoul Semiconductor’s patents and agreed to pay past damages and a license fee.
Seoul says that the damages and licensing fee affirm that Philcor is committed to respecting Seoul’s intellectual property of patents in its technologies for high-voltage operation (Acrich Driver), Acrich MJT (multi-junction technology over-6V high power chip), filament LED bulb structure, LED chip fabrication, LED packaging, and LED epitaxial growth.
Other Enforcement Actions against LED Lighting Retailers
Seoul is continuing a series of enforcement actions to prevent distribution of suspected infringing products in the LED lighting market.
The most recent of these actions occurred at the end of August when Seoul also filed a patent infringement lawsuit alleging infringement of 15 LED patents in the Texas Eastern District federal court against Fry’s Electronics, a consumer electronics retailer. The lawsuit accuses Fry’s of infringing Seoul Semiconductor’s patents related to UCD technology (KSF) that significantly improves the color gamut of LCD displays such as TVs and smartphones as well as optical lens technology of infringement.
Also as part of its patent enforcement campaign, Seoul has delivered notices to producers of various LED lighting products, as well as their distributors, where the company suspects infringement of its patents. Seoul says it has warned these companies that they need to stop using LEDs and any other components that may infringe upon its patented technology.
Nam Ki-bum, Executive Vice President of the Lighting Department at Seoul, said, “In order to create fair competition in the market and make sure that intellectual property rights are respected, manufacturers as well as distributors should take active precautionary measures not to manufacturesell infringing products” He added, “We will do our best to encourage a fair-competition environment, in which young entrepreneurs and small entities can succeed in the business world, relying on fair competition in the market and respecting hard-earned patented technology. This is one of the most valuable things Seoul Semiconductor is pursuing.”
