20 July 2018

Nitride files patent infringement lawsuit against Digi-Key and RayVio in Tokyo

© Semiconductor Today Magazine / Juno PublishiPicture: Disco’s DAL7440 KABRA laser saw.

On 12 July, Nitride Semiconductor Co Ltd of Tokushima, Japan filed a patent infringement lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court against US-based electronic component distributor Digi-Key Corp (trading as Digi-Key Electronics), which sells ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV-LED) products on the Internet that are manufactured by UV-LED maker RayVio Corp of Haywood, CA, USA.

Nitride is seeking injunction(including destruction of infringing products) and damages, asserting that Digi-Key and RayVio infringe Nitride’s patent (JP 3,285,341, ‘Method for Manufacturing Gallium Nitride Compound Semiconductor’) by manufacturing and selling the UV-LED products.

Based on the US patent corresponding to the above Japanese patent, on 23 May 2017 Nitride has previously filed a patent infringement lawsuit with the US District Court, Northern District of California against RayVio, and on 22 September 2017 Nitride filed a patent infringement lawsuit with the US District Court for the District of Minnesota against Digi-Key.

Nitride says that, with professor Shiro Sakai at Japan’s Tokushima University, in 2000 it succeeded in developing the first highly efficient UV-LED, and has since continued to manufacture and sell UV-LEDs involving huge investment in R&D. The firm says that it will take resolute actions to against infringers in any country, where appropriate and necessary, to protect its patents and other intellectual property rights.

See related items:

Nitride Semiconductor files UV-LED patent infringement lawsuit in USA against Digi-Key

Nitride Semiconductor files patent infringement lawsuit against Rayvio’s UV-LED products

Tags: UV LEDs

Visit: www.digikey.com

Visit: www.rayvio.com

Visit: www.nitride.co.jp