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28 November 2018Patents

Seoul Semiconductor expands patent complaint against TV seller

South Korea-based Seoul Semiconductor has extended its lawsuit against a consumer electronics retailer, now accusing it of infringing 19 patents.

Seoul Semiconductor announced the expansion of the lawsuit against Fry’s Electronics yesterday, November 27.

In late August, Seoul Semiconductor filed its suit at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleging that brand TVs being sold in Fry’s stores are infringing a range of patents.

The infringed patents cover backlight lenses, backlight modules, LED chips, LED packages, and phosphors, as well as technology that enables LED chips to be directly soldered onto printed circuit boards (PCB).

Filed on November 20, the amended 55-page claim provided examples of Fry’s alleged infringement of each patent.

“Seoul Semiconductor invests over 10% of sales revenue into R&D and owns one of the largest LED patent portfolios in the world, which includes more than 10,000 patents worldwide,” said the suit.

Seoul Semiconductor’s press release went on to state that the Korean company’s patents covering WICOP—wafer incorporated chip on PCB)—enable LED chips to be soldered to a PCB without an LED package.

This, according to Seoul Semiconductor, is the world’s first developed revolutionary technology for semiconductor structures.

“Other companies may be attempting to imitate Seoul’s patented technology, describing it as a CSP (Chip Size Package) requiring a sub-mount between a PCB and an LED. Protecting its patented technology has led Seoul to expand its infringement claims in the Fry’s litigation,” added the release.

Sam Ryu, Seoul Semiconductor’s vice president of IT business, said: “We hope that our commitment for technology innovation would inspire young entrepreneurs and small businesses.”

Rye added that protecting this technology against infringement is a “cornerstone of our business and sends an important message to the market and other innovators who would follow in Seoul’s foot-steps that hard work and innovation will be respected”.

Seoul Semiconductor said that to safeguard its technology, it has actively enforced its patent rights and sent cease-and-desist letters to suspected infringers.

Earlier this month, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed a partial victory to Seoul Semiconductor in a dispute concerning patents used in flat screen TVs and laptops. The court up-held a district court’s ruling that Seoul Semiconductor’s patents were valid but vacated a $4 million jury award for damages.

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More on this story

Patents
20 September 2017   South Korean LED producer Seoul Semiconductor has sued a US company selling LED bulb products, accusing it of infringing 12 patents.
Patents
20 November 2018   The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit yesterday handed a partial victory to South Korean LED producer Seoul Semiconductor in a dispute concerning patents used in flat screen TVs and laptops.