News: LEDs
23 February 2023
Bridgelux responds to Nichia’s Japan patent lawsuit against CoreStaff targeting F90 LEDs
On 13 February, Japan-based Nichia Corp filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court seeking damages and to enjoin trading company CoreStaff Co Ltd from selling products from the F90 family of LEDs made by Bridgelux Inc of Fremont, CA, USA (a vertically integrated developer and manufacturer of solid-state light sources for lighting applications), which it alleges infringe Japanese patent no. 4974310.
Nichia notes that the Japanese patent — as well as related patents owned it in the USA, Germany and China — relates to LEDs incorporating KSF (PFS) phosphors. Nichia owns more than 120 patents in over 12 countries covering aspects of this technology, which is important to the LCD backlight and automotive markets, says the firm.
However, the scope of the lawsuit is limited only to such products in Japan and does not cover any jurisdictions outside of Japan. Bridgelux also notes that its F90 products are under Current Lighting Solution and GE Lighting (Savant Company) PSF patent licenses.
Bridgelux believes that Nichia’s infringement claims are entirely without merit. The firm notes that, for many years, it has invested significantly in R&D, producing significant intellectual property rights, which currently includes a patent portfolio of more than 550 worldwide patents spanning LED technologies from chips to luminaires.
Bridgelux says that it respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects others to respect its intellectual property rights. The firm adds that it “will not be intimidated by the misuse of litigation from those seeking an unfair advantage or seeking to limit the advantage Bridgelux has earned from our technology investments”.
Because Bridgelux’s patent portfolio covers core LED technologies including some key KSF application patents, the firm says that it intends to employ its own patent portfolio to protect its rights.
