OSRAM wins patent dispute with Kingbright in the German courts
The District Court of Düsseldorf has upheld almost all the claims of OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of opto-semiconductors, in its patent dispute with the Taiwanese LED manufacturer Kingbright. The court ruled that Kingbright had infringed basic patent and utility model rights of OSRAM Opto Semiconductors. In accordance with the judgment, Kingbright may no longer sell many of its LED products in Germany and must also destroy its stocks of these products currently in Germany.
OSRAM claimed infringement of its patents and utility models and the court confirmed three infringements. The court reserved its decision on a patent for the technology for LED packages. As expected, Kingbright has filed an appeal against the initial judgment.
Rüdiger Müller, CEO of OSRAM Opto Semiconductors and Gerd Pokorny, General Counsel of OSRAM GmbH, see the judgment as a further strengthening of the company’s patent strategy. “We will relentlessly pursue any infringements of our intellectual property rights, the basis of our success in the LED sector. Behind our OSRAM patents and utility models lies the knowledge of our company and of our employees, and also a great deal of time and money.” Today’s judgment supports OSRAM Opto Semiconductors in its consistent efforts to protect its intellectual property – throughout the world. OSRAM only recently filed a lawsuit for the infringement of a patent for white LEDs in China against Kingbright who manufacture LEDs here, among other things.”
The patents and utility models infringed by Kingbright in Germany relate above all to the production of white LEDs that convert blue light into white light with the aid of a phosphor. OSRAM, as a leading innovator, was one of the first companies at the end of the 1990s to launch white single-chip LEDs on the market. Typical applications for white LEDs include backlighting of displays and interior and exterior lighting for vehicles. Kingbright must no longer market these products. The stocks held in Germany must be destroyed.
About OSRAM:
OSRAM is one of the two leading lighting manufacturers in the world. Sales in the year ending September 30, 2006 totalled 4.6 billion euros, 88 percent of which came from outside Germany. OSRAM is a high-tech company in the lighting sector. Around 40 percent of sales comes from innovative products. This global player employs around 40,000 people worldwide, supplies customers in some 150 countries and has 49 production facilities in 18 countries (www.osram.com).
About OSRAM Opto Semiconductors:
OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH, Regensburg, is a subsidiary of OSRAM. It offers its customers solutions based on semiconductor technology for the lighting, sensor and visualization sectors. The company has sites in Regensburg, Santa Clara (USA) and Penang (Malaysia). In the 2006 fiscal year (to September 30, 2006) more than 3500 employees of OSRAM Opto Semiconductors produced sales totalling around 500 million euros. (www.osram-os.com).
