Dominant fires lawsuit back at Osram
Malaysian LED manufacturer Dominant Semiconductors has filed an unfair competition lawsuit against Osram. This follows a complaint earlier this year by Osram, submitted to the US International Trade Commission (ITC), alleging that Dominant had infringed upon its technology patents (see related story).
Dominant s lawsuit, filed in a US district court, alleges violation of state and federal unfair competition laws, interference with contractual relations, and trade disparagement. In particular, the lawsuit alleges that Osram has, since at least 2001, made false and misleading statements about Dominant s products to Dominant s customers and end users.
Dominant accuses Osram of sending letters to its customers (i.e. Dominant s) in September 2003 stating that all of Dominant s product lines infringed on Osram s patents. Dominant also believes that it has been falsely accused by Osram of infringing Osram s LED chip technology.
The company, through its lawsuit, is requesting several actions from Osram including financial compensation for present and future sales.
Dominant claims that earlier this year, when Osram initiated a complaint with the US ITC, the company abandoned accusations relating to several of Dominant s products before Dominant had even filed its response.
Dominant is defending itself before the ITC, and denies that it is infringing Osram s patents.