Seoul Semiconductor has filed a lengthy patented infringement lawsuit against SATCO Products, claiming SATCO violated patent laws on 11 different occasions related to LED products.
The case, filed in Southern Florida District Court, is one of a number of patent infringement cases filed by Seoul Semiconductor over the past four years, including cases in Texas, California, Nevada, and Florida. In the case against SATCO Products, Seoul Semiconductor claims SATCO violated 11 patents, including two patents for LED power operation, three for LED lights, one patent involving a diode chip, and another for alternating current-driven elements. The case was filed on April 19, and does not specify the damages Seoul Semiconductor is seeking.
In March of 2018, Seoul filed a patent litigation for infringement of 10 LED patents in the Texas Northern District federal court against Service Lighting Electrical Supplies, Inc. – the operator of America’s largest online retail channel for LED bulbs: 1000bulbs.com.
In May of last year, Seoul initiated a patent infringement lawsuit for infringement of 8 LED patents in the California Central District federal court against Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. In the complaint, the accused products include various LED bulbs supplied by Feit Electric.
And in August of last year, Seoul filed a patent infringement lawsuit for infringement of 15 LED patents in the Texas Eastern District federal court against Fry’s Electronics, a retail company of consumer electronics – accusing UCD technology (KSF) that enables significant improvement of color gamut of LCD displays such as TVs and smartphones as well as optical lens technology of infringement.
In furtherance of its enforcement campaign, Seoul has also delivered notices to manufacturers of various LED lighting products, as well as their distributors, where it suspects infringement of its patents. Seoul has warned these companies that they need to stop using LEDs and any other components that may infringe upon Seoul’s patented technology.
Nam Ki-bum, Executive Vice President of the Lighting Department at Seoul, said, “In order to create fair competition in the market and make sure that intellectual property rights are respected, manufacturers as well as distributors should take active precautionary measures not to manufacture or sell infringing products.” He added, “We will do our best to encourage a fair-competition environment, in which young entrepreneurs and small entities can succeed in the business world, relying on fair competition in the market and respecting hard-earned patented technology. This is one of the most valuable things Seoul Semiconductor is pursuing.”
While SATCO is not discussing the case since it is pending legal matter, it did release the following statement to tED magazine and “lightED”:
BRENTWOOD, NY, April 22, 2019– Brentwood, NY. Satco Products, Inc. respects intellectual property. SATCO takes all intellectual property claims seriously and will defend our products appropriately. Satco takes pride in its brand and the products that bear its name. SATCO does not take claims against its products lightly and is committed to defeating these allegations in court. SATCO is confident that these asserted claims will be shown to be meritless.