News: LEDs
14 February 2022
Seoul Viosys seeks to enjoin sales of infringing UV LED products in Europe
Ultraviolet LED product maker Seoul Viosys Co Ltd (a subsidiary of South Korean LED maker Seoul Semiconductor Co Ltd) says that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit with the Hague District Court in the Netherlands, seeking to enjoin UV LED products in European countries.
The litigation arose from an earlier patent lawsuit filed by Seoul Viosys against FNAC Darty Group, a large European retailer, in France last September, when the Judicial Court of Paris ordered the search and seizure of evidence of suspected infringement. From that, Seoul Viosys learned that accused UV LED products are being imported and distributed from the Netherlands. To prevent the further distribution of infringing products across European countries, Seoul Viosys has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Netherlands-based trading company FTHMM International B.V. in the Hague District Court of the Netherlands, seeking a preliminary injunction against the allegedly infringing UV LED products.
Seoul Viosys and US-based UV LED firm SETi claim to have co-developed and mass-produced the first UV LED that emits UV light with optical semiconductor technology. Seoul Viosys now claims to be the top producer of UV LEDs. As the market has expanded, however, so has the number of sales of infringing products, the firm says. It has hence expanded its enforcement and taken legal action to protect its intellectual property in South Korea, Japan, the USA and Europe. Seoul Viosys has won all 30 cases that it has brought over the last three years in six different countries, including its pursuit of a permanent injunction against the sales of infringing products in one of these cases.
“Seoul’s UV LEDs will continue to lead the world in products for clean air and water, as well as sterilizing against dangerous contaminants like coronavirus,” reckons Seoul Viosys’ CEO Youngjoo Lee. “Seoul has not only increased the capacity of such products by five times, it has done so while producing products at significantly lower prices,” he adds. “Seoul Viosys, SETi and Nitride Semiconductors Co Ltd., its strategic partner in Japan, have developed, owned and mass produced this technology for many years. No one else can develop optical semiconductor UV LED technology without using our fundamental patents,” he claims. “When intellectual property is respected, the market will provide fair opportunities to all, including young entrepreneurs and small- to medium-sized enterprises around the world.”
