Seoul Semiconductor targets Satco over LED patents
Seoul Semiconductor is suing US lighting company Satco Products for allegedly infringing its LED lighting patents.
In the complaint, filed at the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York yesterday, November 27, the Korean semiconductor manufacturer claimed that Satco’s LED lamps infringed nine of its patents.
The nine patents, registered at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) between 2010 and 2016, cover light-emitting diodes and LED lighting.
Satco’s allegedly infringing LED lamps include the S9152 and S9542 models.
The suit comes just months after Seoul Semiconductor sued German company Conrad Electronic at a Mannheim court. In that complaint, Seoul Semiconductor alleged that Conrad infringed its patents through the sale of LEDs for mobile phone flashlights.
More generally, the LED industry has been the site of a number of high-profile patent disputes of late.
In July, the University of California launched what its lawyers termed a “ first-of-its-kind” litigation campaign against retailers of LED bulbs including Walmart, Ikea, and Amazon.
According to the university, the legal campaign was about “protecting the reinvention of the light bulb”.
The complaint led to the US International Trade Commission (ITC) opening an investigation into the retailers.
Seoul Semiconductor has previously targeted other US companies selling LED lighting fixtures.
In September 2017, the Korean company sued Archipelago Lighting, claiming that its LED bulbs infringed patents covering Seoul Semiconductor’s “fundamental” LED technology.
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