Reportedly, the day before, Cree and SemiLEDs (SemiLEDs) the two sides have agreed to end more than a year of patent infringement litigation, SemiLEDs agreed to implement a ban that will take effect in October 1, 2012, banning the import and sale of SemiLEDs products by the charges in the United States, and for the past damage to Cree for a one-time reimbursement. The rest of the two parties will be repealed without prejudice to the rights of the future, and other provisions will not be disclosed.
The Cree with SemiLEDs patent battle lasted more than a year, their reconciliation will become one of the domestic and international LED patent battle in the history of a landmark event, but also reflects the current solution of patent dispute is not to fight a "fight at outrance", in the face of market interests, with "win-win strategy" may be is the best. Next, OFweek semiconductor lighting network editor this guidance, and to discuss the history and status quo of readers at home and abroad patent war.
First of all, let's look back at what happened:
In April 13, 2011, in the U.S. state of North Carolina LED companies CREE, INC. (hereinafter referred to as CREE) with 6 patent infringement, OPTOELECTRONICS to the Taiwan LED chip maker SEMILEDS in the central state of North Carolina Federal District Court (SemiLEDs) filed a patent infringement lawsuit, accusing the company of the production and trafficking of the MvpLED (Metal Vertical Photon Light Emitting. Diode, metal the substrate current vertical excitation light emitting diode) chip violated LED patents CREE. The case of a total of 6 patents, the inventor of the patent after the transfer to the CREE, the content is related to the composition of the LED structure, manufacturing methods.
In August 15, 2011, SemiLEDs return Cree, with four patent infringement on the grounds, to the court to sue Delaware. Four cases of the patent system USD566056; US7615789; US7646033; USD580888, LED chip design patents and white LED production methods.
CREE sue SEMILEDS OPTOELECTRONICS
In the end, the event ended in reconciliation.
More and more facts show that the patent has become a weapon behind the war between enterprises in various industries, but also the core content of competition between enterprises and the most sharp weapon against opponents. In the past, most of the big firms (especially international ones) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are mostly on the court because of patent cases. In the domestic LED industry, because the core patents are controlled by overseas manufacturers, Chinese LED companies are faced with the risk of patent infringement.
And do not talk about LED chip and packaging, in the field of LED lighting, compared with foreign lighting companies, many Chinese lighting companies have not yet included in the patent protection of enterprise development strategy.
In Taiwan, although in the early 80s, especially some electronic enterprises and high-tech enterprises, there is no special concept in the patent, but after ten years of experience, experience to the defendant after taste, Taiwan enterprises have gradually realized the importance of patents. Compared with mainland enterprises and LED enterprises in Taiwan, the current awareness of the patent in some backward. An industry source said that this is mainly because the mainland LED industry is just beginning to encounter patent issues.
"The enterprise is more just the view of the tiger," that the patent war will not go to their heads. If the domestic product in the early stage, may not touch the patent problem. However, as long as the products are sold to Europe and the United States, Japan, South Korea will find that the patent has become a crucial issue. The company has been accused, or his client has been told that the customer has received a warning letter, the customer will reverse the requirements of domestic manufacturers to explain, to solve the problem. "
On the whole Chinese and foreign enterprises there is a gap in the product competitiveness problems include: enterprise independent innovation ability is not strong, many patents are filed in foreign giants patent on minor alterations, in the face of international patent litigation often in a passive position; Chinese enterprise core technology patents rarely to LED lighting, often is the appearance of patent applications more, so the development of handicapped patents; the added value is not high, while foreign giants patents, often very wide range of applications, the impact is profound.
Dr. Liang Bingwen Chinese nanotechnology center Suzhou Academy of Sciences pointed out that mainland companies listed in China more and more objects on behalf of the international giants to the mainland, and has a huge potential demand, soon will become the main battlefield of the major LED manufacturers for patent wars triggered at any moment.
FSL LED consultant Dong Pingnian also once said, "in the company's initial stage, manufacturers have a patent pretending to take, 'fangshuiyangyu' strategy, fattened back stabbed a knife, the new enterprise to court. He pointed out that China's LED industry does not have a patent, it means no defense tools, in a patent dispute in the passive position of being beaten and helpless. So, since the patent battle to have so many in the development of small and medium enterprises involved in the abyss of terror, fear and unable to get up after a fall.
However, from the situation in recent years, has not only appeared in the patent dispute between large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises, with the competition of the market become clear, already monopolized the global LED patent market international companies, began to start on large enterprises. Such as Japan's Nichia (Nichia), TOYOTA (ToyodaGosei), the United States Cree company
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