The Taiwan Intellectual Property Court has confirmed the validity of Heraeus Photovoltaics' patent for conductive paste in a legal dispute with Giga Solar Materials Corporation.
Heraeus, a leading supplier of metalization solutions to the PV industry, filed a complaint in June 2015 with the Taiwan Intellectual Property Court against Giga Solar Materials for patent infringement of Heraeus' Taiwan Patent No. I432539.
While litigation is still pending, Heraeus is confident that its allegations will be supported by the court, which recognized Heraeus' Taiwan Patent No. I432539 in an interlocutory judgment and dismissed Giga Solar Materials' invalidity defense.
Furthermore, in December, the China Patent Reexamination Board confirmed the validity of Heraeus' Chinese Patent No. 201010529562.7, which is related to Heraeus' Taiwan Patent No. I432539. Heraeus said it therefore believed that the two favorable decisions in China and Taiwan further strengthen its intellectual property rights, the company said.
Heraeus' Taiwan Patent No. I432539 discloses a use of a conductive paste for forming a solar cell electrode, including: a conductive powder comprising silver as a main component; glass frit; and an organic vehicle, wherein the glass frit contains tellurium glass frit having 30 to 90 molar percentage of tellurium oxide as a network-forming component.
"The patented technology makes it possible to form a solar cell electrode having a low dependence on firing temperature without causing problems due to fire-through into the substrate, and to thereby obtain a solar cell having good solar cell characteristics," Heraeus said.
Andreas Liebheit, president of the Heraeus Photovoltaics Global Business Unit, added, We make significant investments in our R&D for one reason: to constantly deliver new ideas and greater value for our customers so they can make their products more innovative and their businesses more successful. The courts favorable ruling is a win for our customers.
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