Singapore-based solar manufacturer Maxeon Solar Technologies has filed a new patent infringement lawsuit against Chinese solar cell and module maker Aiko Solar.
Filed before the Munich Regional Court I in Germany, the lawsuit claims Aiko and its European distribution network infringed Maxeon’s core back contact (BC) solar technology patent EP2297789B1 in Aiko’s “second- and third-generation” BC solar module products, sold in the European market.
The lawsuit lists four German solar product distributors, Wattkraft GmbH & Co. KG, DWH Solutions GmbH, Memodo GmbH, and Tepto GmbH, as co-defendants.
Maxeon is requesting a permanent injunction via court order requesting Aiko and the co-defendants refrain from infringing activities, as well as the release of sales data of the accused products and compensation. Maxeon is also seeking the destruction of any infringing inventory held in Germany.
“As in our prior actions against Aiko, we continue to target distributors as defendants,” commented Marc Robinson, Maxeon's Associate General Counsel. “This lawsuit should serve as a reminder that patent infringement risk is not limited to manufacturers. Manufacturers and distributors of infringing product each carry risks of patent infringement.”
Under German patent law, downstream distributors who sell products infringing on a patent can be found liable for injunctions and damages, even when they were not involved in the manufacturing.
The lawsuit follows two previous intellectual property protection actions filed by Maxeon against Aiko and its sales channels.
In 2023, it filed a complaint before the Mannheim Regional Court concerning infringement of Maxeon's patent EP2297788. In May 2025, the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands rejected a preliminary injunction request that Maxeon filed against Aiko in relation to the patent. The same court rejected Maxeon’s initial injunction request in May 2024, prompting the company to immediately file an appeal.
In June 2024, Maxeon opened a second lawsuit against Aiko and several of its partners before the Unified Patent Court Local Division in Düsseldorf, claiming infringement of Maxeon's patent EP3065184.
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