Boston University wins $13.7M in LED IP case
A Massachusetts federal jury has decided that electronic companies Epistar, Everlight Electronics and Lite-On owe almost $13.7 million to Boston University, according to a report by the website Law360. This is for willfully infringing a patent for LED technology.
The jury verdict said Boston University had shown that Taiwan-based Epistar and its customers Everlight and Light-On sold products, such as dimmable LEDs, that infringed US Patent No. 5,686,738, which is related to preparing highly insulated GaN single crystal films in an MBE growth chamber. The jury also decided that the defendants failed to show that the patent was invalid.
Boston University sued the LED companies in December 2012, and sought to separate Epistar's trial from its clients. US District Judge Patti B. Saris ordered all three Taiwanese companies to face the jury together.
Epistar will need to pay at least $9.3 million. Its clients Everlight and Lite-On were given a lower penalty of $ 4 million and $365,000 respectively for using the patent infringed LED chips.
Epistar is considering to appeal the ruling and enter a second trial against Boston University.
