News

26 March 2009

 

Osram extends patent deal with Everlight to cross-license LED housing patents

Germany’s Osram GmbH has extended the existing patent license (dating from September 2003) relating to the manufacturing and sale by Taiwan’s Everlight Electronics Co Ltd of white and colored LEDs using conversion technology developed by subsidiary Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH of Regensburg, Germany.

The conversion technology enables the production of white or coloured LEDs using blue-emitting indium gallium nitride (InGaN) based chips and suitable fluorescent converters.

The latest agreement extends the existing license deal in particular to give Everlight the right to use the Osram intellectual property in all areas of application without limitations, including automotive and general lighting.

In return, Everlight has granted Osram a cross-license to use its LED housing patents. The latest agreement paves the way for closer cooperation between the two firms.

“Over the years, Osram Opto Semiconductors has built up a very strong patent position,” says the firm’s CEO Dr Rüdiger Müller. The latest agreement is a perfect example of a productive and fair collaboration, he adds. “But we will also continue to vigorously enforce our patent rights against companies making unauthorized use of our intellectual property,” comments Gerd Pokorny, general counsel for Osram GmbH. “The strength of our LED patents has been confirmed by many court rulings in various jurisdictions. Just most recently, the High Court of Appeal in Beijing reconfirmed the decision of the Beijing Second Intermediate Court that LEDs manufactured by the Taiwanese manufacturer Kingbright in China infringe Osram’s conversion patents,” he adds.

Osram has previously signed royalty bearing license agreements with various companies, including Rohm, Seoul Semiconductor, Lite-On, Harvatek, Vishay, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Avago.

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