Feit Electric Company Inc of Pico Rivera, CA, USA has filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina alleging that the 4Flow line of LED light bulbs of LED maker Cree Inc of Durham, NC, USA infringes US Patent Nos. 8,408,748 and 9,016,901.
"Feit Electric Company fully supports competition in the market but competition by patent infringement is not acceptable," states president Aaron Feit. "Our company invests in LED lighting technology and we are building a patent portfolio to protect our position in the market. The action commenced today against Cree is simply that strategy put into action," he adds.
Feit Electric has been "building a patent portfolio organically in conjunction with product development and through opportunistic acquisitions," says executive VP Alan Feit.
In the action, Feit Electric is seeking an injunction against sales of Cree's 4Flow LED light bulbs as well as damages for past infringing sales.
Previously, in January, Cree filed complaints with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) and the US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin against Feit Electric and its Asian supplier Unity Opto Technology Co Ltd alleging infringement of 10 patents related to LED lighting and to address what was claimed to be Feit's false and misleading advertising claims that certain of its products meet ENERGY STAR specifications. Cree requested that the ITC issues an order to exclude infringing and falsely advertised articles from entry into the USA, and a cease and desist order requiring the respondents to cease selling infringing and falsely advertised LED bulbs in the USA. In February, the ITC agreed to open an investigation into unfair trade practices that includes Cree's allegations of infringement of eight of its US patents related to LED lighting.
