Lumileds and Epistar settle AlGaInP lawsuit
As part of the settlement agreement, Lumileds has granted Epistar a limited license to use the technology disclosed in several patents relating to absorbing-substrate AlGaInP LEDs. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The case stems from August 2003, when Lumileds, a joint venture between Agilent and Philips, filed a lawsuit against its Taiwanese rival Epistar.
The complaint filed by Lumileds in the US District Court for the Northern District of California accused Epistar s AlGaInP LED products of willfully infringing Lumileds US patent no. 5,008,718 (see Lumileds sues Epistar over AlGaInP LED patent).
The patent in question relates to the use of a transparent GaP window layer to enhance the brightness of AlGaInP LEDs. Several years ago, Lumileds had a dispute over the same patent with another Taiwanese manufacturer, United Epitaxy Company (UEC), which was resolved in October 2001.
"We are pleased that Epistar has acknowledged the value of this intellectual property," said Mike Holt, Lumileds chief executive officer. "Lumileds holds more than 100 patents in the area of high-brightness LEDs and continues to pioneer the development of solid-state lighting technology.
Holt added that Lumileds will "continue to enforce" its intellectual property rights.