News: LEDs
15 September 2020
Seoul Semi wins lawsuit against Factory Depot
South Korean LED maker Seoul Semiconductor Co Ltd has obtained a permanent injunction in a patent infringement lawsuit against The Factory Depot Advantages Inc that sold Philips electronic products and Feit lighting products.
The US District Court for the Central District of California issued a permanent injunction against the sales of a Philips signage display product manufactured by an affiliate of TPV Technology, the world’s largest manufacturer of computer monitors. This Philips brand product incorporated LED packages informed of products from Taiwanese LED maker Lextar Electronics. There was no dispute in the permanent injunction order that the accused products infringed Seoul’s patents. Seoul previously obtained another permanent injunction judgment against the sales of a Philips brand LED TV in a patent infringement lawsuit filed against Fry’s Electronics.
The latest permanent injunction also prohibits the sale of certain filament LED bulbs of Feit Electronics. Seoul is the only licensed filament LED component supplier under the Regents of the University of California’s (Santa Barbara) filament LED patents.
In recent years, Seoul has actively pursued enforcement against products suspected of infringing its patents. As a result, Seoul and its affiliates have obtained six permanent injunctions, including two recall orders, of infringing products during the past three years.
“Intellectual property is an incredible tool that allows people to break through class barriers and enable small businesses and young entrepreneurs to compete with anyone, even global conglomerates,” says founder Chung Hoon Lee. “Some companies abuse complicated patent laws and infringe other patents or have unlawful access. We hope that Seoul’s success story will reinforce the importance of R&D and the protection of intellectual property.”
