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18 February 2022PatentsAlex Baldwin

Ikea, GE, Walmart free of ITC probe

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has dismissed a complaint accusing Ikea, GE, Walmart and others of infringing four LED patents owned by the University of California.

This decision affirms a prior ITC administrative law judge’s opinion that ruled that none of the accused companies had violated Section 337. That initial ruling said that the University had failed to prove infringement of the asserted patent claims, and found the four patents invalid.

The university filed a petition for commission review of the initial determination’s views on claim construction, infringement and invalidity.

In a notice issued February 16, 2022, Secretary to the Commission Lisa Barton affirmed, with modifications, every outcome of the November ruling, finding no Section 337 violation and ruling the four LED patents invalid.

The University of California began a legal campaign against several major US retailers and suppliers of filament LED light bulbs, claiming that many companies involved in the LED industry had infringed on its patents covering the energy-efficient light bulb technology.

The patents covered “paradigm-shifting” innovations of light bulbs featuring novel and non-obvious LED structures, created by university alumni Shuji Nakamura and Steven DenBaars.

According to the university, the patents became “fundamental” to a new generation of filament LED light bulbs, but the parties had not struck a licensing agreement with the university.

It first filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Central District of California in 2019, alleging that Amazon, Ikea, Walmart, Target and Bed Bath and Beyond had sold infringing products without licensing the university’s technology.

The university also chose to seek an investigation by the ITC at the time, which was withdrawn at the start of 2020.

The university launched its second request for an investigation from the ITC in March 2020, adding several new respondents including General Electric, Savant Systems and Feit Electric Company.

The complaint alleged that the retailers and suppliers had unlawfully imported LED light bulbs into the US, and sought a permanent limited exclusion order and a cease and desist order barring the accused products from being imported into the US.

However, in November 2021, ITC judge Clark Cheney found no violation of Section 337 occurred in regards to the four patents, and held that the patents were invalid.

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