Seoul semiconductor aims to halt European ‘UV LED’ sales
A subsidiary of Seoul Semiconductor has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Netherlands, looking to bar the sale of allegedly copycat UV light-emitting diode (LED) products throughout Europe.
Seoul Viosys announced on Monday that it had filed the complaint against a Dutch trading company, FTHMM International, at the Hague District Court after learning of its connection with infringing UV LED products.
Seoul Viosys and US-based LED company SETi co-developed the UV LED technology, the first of its kind that emits UV light using optical semiconductor technology.
According to the announcement, the success of the invention led to the production of copycat products, prompting the South Korean company to take legal action to protect its IP in South Korea, Japan, the US and Europe.
A litany of court victories
So far, the company has succeeded in all 30 cases involving this technology that it has brought over the last three years.
Youngjoo Lee, CEO of Seoul Viosys, said “Seoul Viosys, SETi… 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. When IP is respected, the market will provide fair opportunities to all, including young entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized enterprises around the world.”
According to the press release issued by Seoul Viosys, the litigation arose from a prior lawsuit Viosys had filed in France in September 2021 against European retailer FNAC Darty Group.
In this case, the Judicial Court of Paris ordered the search and seizure of evidence of suspected infringement. During the search, Viosys allegedly learned that the accused UV LED products were being imported and distributed from the Netherlands.
As a result, it filed the patent infringement suit against FTHMM International, seeking a preliminary injunction to bar the distribution of the allegedly infringing UV LED products.
LED litigation
This is the latest in a series of global patent disputes of LED technology. In November last year, Zhejiang Super Lighting was awarded more than $14 million over the infringement of three patents related to its LED lighting tube technology.
In an article for WIPR, counsel for Super Lighting, Perkins Coie lawyers Matt Berstein and Miguel Bombach explained why this lawsuit, bought by a foreign company in US court, was successful.
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