Nichia files patent lawsuit in Germany
Japanese LED maker takes legal action against German distributor Endrich over sales of Dominant LEDs
Earlier this month Nichia filed patent infringement lawsuits in Germany in the Düsseldorf Local Division of the European Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the Munich District Court against Endrich Bauelemente Vertriebs GmbH, a German electronic components distributor, for selling certain automotive LED products manufactured by Malaysia-based LED manufacturer Dominant Opto Technologies.
In the lawsuits, Nichia is seeking permanent injunction, rendering accounts, damages, recall and destruction, alleging that certain automotive LED products from the Spice Plus and NagaJo series manufactured by Dominant and sold by Endrich infringe three Nichia patents. These patents are EP2323178 (for the territory of Germany, Italy, France and Netherlands); EP3267494 (for the territory of Germany); and EP2216834 (for the territory of Germany).
Nichia claims that certain products from the Spice Plus series infringe EP2323178 and EP3267494. EP2323178 relates to LED package epoxy resins that exhibit excellent heat and light resistance. EP3267494 relates to LEDs that achieve high reliability and high efficiency in manufacturing. These two patents represent important technologies in the automotive lighting and backlighting market, where highly reliable LEDs are especially required.
Nichia also claims that certain products from the NagaJo series infringe EP2216834, which relate to CSP (Chip Scale Package) products, an essential technology for high-luminance LEDs. This technology is of particular importance in the automotive headlight market, where high-luminance LEDs are required.
Nichia also holds family patentsifor these devices across other countries: EP2323178 (Japan, US, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Netherlands, China, India, Taiwan, and Korea); EP3267494 (Japan, US, Germany, UK, France, Netherlands, India, Taiwan, Korea, and Brazil); and EP2216834 (Japan, US, UK, France, Italy, Netherlands, India, Taiwan, Korea, and Russia).
