Sued Sanan Optoelectronics for LED chip patent infringement with a stop lawsuit against HC Semitek

News from Jiwei.com On August 8, according to a report from the Shanghai Securities News, HC Semitek had sued Sanan Optoelectronics for infringing its patents, and the court has formally filed a case. It sued San’an Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., Xiamen San’an Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., Anhui San’an Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. and other companies this time for infringement of its No. ZL 201220399415.7[CaseNo:(2021)Yue03Minchu1945]and No. ZL 201811133968.6[CaseNumber:(2021)Guangdong03Minchu1946]Two core patents, the patent names are “High Voltage Light Emitting Diode Chip” and “Light Emitting Diode Epitaxial Wafer and Its Manufacturing Method”.

HC Semitek requires Sanan Optoelectronics to stop manufacturing, promise to sell and sell products that infringe patent rights, destroy all equipment and related molds used to produce infringing products, and compensate HC Semitek for economic losses totaling 80 million yuan.

Some lawyers analyzed that the purpose of Huacan’s lawsuit is very clear, which is to “stop the lawsuit”. There are two clear signs. One is that the patent that Sanan sued was “similar” to the one previously sued by Sanan, and the other is the amount of the claim. Also selected 80 million yuan.

As early as September 2020, Sanan Optoelectronics sued HC Semitek Co., Ltd., HC Semitek (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd., HC Semitek (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., etc., for infringing its invention patent No. ZL201210286901.2 and No. ZL02142952. No. 9 invention patent, the patent names are “Nitride semiconductor light-emitting devices and methods of manufacturing them” and “Semiconductor light-emitting elements and semiconductor light-emitting devices”.

It is understood that Sanan Optoelectronics requires HC Semitek to stop manufacturing, promise to sell and sell applications that infringe the above-mentioned patents, including TV backlights, consumer display backlights, automotive display backlights, display and lighting LED chips, and destroy all LED chips used to produce infringing products. Equipment and related molds, and compensate Sanan Optoelectronics for economic losses totaling 80 million yuan.

Since then, HC Semitek initiated invalidation procedures for two patents of Sanan Optoelectronics. However, the State Intellectual Property Office recently issued the “Invalidation Request Examination Decision” with a decision number of 50993 and a patent number of 201210286901.2, maintaining the validity of the patent. The patentee is Xiamen Sanan Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Sanan Optoelectronics), and the invalidation requester is HC Semitek Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as HC Semitek Optoelectronics).

Industry insiders told Jiwei.com, “The failure of HC Semitek to initiate invalidation procedures for the two patents of San’an Optoelectronics shows that the stability of these two patents of San’an Optoelectronics is very high, and the subsequent litigation is likely to win. Not only can it recover the economic losses of the enterprise, but it also has the effect of enhancing the competitiveness of the enterprise in the market.”

According to industry analysts, the two companies’ lawsuits against each other may have a lot to do with the competition for the high-end LED market. As the two leading LED chip companies in China, both parties have continued to adjust their product structure in recent years and accelerate their deployment in the high-end market, which is also the current hot Mini-LED/Micro-LED field.

In terms of high-end Mini-LED products, Sanan Optoelectronics Mini-LED chips have been supplied to Samsung in batches, becoming its primary supplier and signing a supply agreement; a joint laboratory has been established with TCL Huaxing to promote the marketization of Micro LED. At the same time, accelerate the promotion of Hubei San’an Mini/Micro display industrialization project. In addition, the industry has also reported that Sanan Optoelectronics will cooperate with Apple.

HC Semitek, another leading company in LED chips, also began to optimize its product structure in 2019, focusing on high-end areas such as Mini LED chips. It also cooperates with companies such as National Star Optoelectronics, Innolux Optoelectronics, and Unilumin Technology.

(Proofreading/Lee)