‘There is no such thing as a global patent’
Jeffrey Saltman, partner at US intellectual property law firm Fisch Sigler LLP, recently spoke to pv magazine about the rising number of patent lawsuits between PV module manufacturers. He said this increase in litigation mainly stems from the industry’s convergence on tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) tech and noted that the number of lawsuits is likely to rise in the near future.
France’s Carbon involved in patent case with JA Solar
France-based PV manufacturer Carbon is currently involved in patent proceedings with JA Solar over tunneling silicon oxide (SiO2) layers, doped polysilicon layers, and electrodes in tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar products.
JA Solar files patent infringement lawsuit against Astronergy
JA Solar has filed two patent lawsuits against Astronergy in the Unified Patent Court (UPC). The proceedings are related to the tunneling silicon oxide (SiO2) layers, the doped polysilicon layer, and the electrodes used in tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar products.
Trina Solar probing potential breaches of TOPCon patents
Trina Solar says it has started evaluating potential violations of some of its patents for tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) tech. One of the patents focuses on the number of busbars and their width in TOPCon solar panels.
First Solar probes potential infringement of TOPCon patents
First Solar says it is evaluating potential infringement of its patents for its tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) tech, secured through the acquisition of TetraSun in 2013. The US thin-film solar module manufacturer has not named the companies involved or given a timeline for the investigation.
Trina Solar, Hanwha Qcells reach settlement on patent dispute
Hanwha Qcells and Trina Solar say they have signed a patent licensing and transfer agreement with each other to end a dispute over their intellectual property.
SolarEdge under investigation for alleged patent violations
The US International Trade Commission has launched a new investigation into SolarEdge, following a lawsuit from power electronics specialist Ampt.
China dominates transport fuel-cell patents
The World Intellectual Property Organization says China accounted for 69% of the patents filed for transport-related fuel-cell tech in 2020, with road transport significantly dominating applications.
Huawei, SolarEdge settle patent litigation lawsuits
Huawei and SolarEdge have settled all of their pending lawsuits in Germany and China through a global patent license agreement.
Fraunhofer ISE reaches legal settlements with seven inverter manufacturers who infringed its patent
In 2002, the Fraunhofer ISE patented the HERIC circuit for highly efficient inverters. Since then, the institute says, it has recorded out-of-court settlements in seven patent infringement lawsuits against companies from China, Taiwan and Germany.
