South Korean LED maker Seoul Semiconductor says that Japanese lens maker Enplas' LED lens patent has been revoked in Taiwan, adding to a series of legal victories against Enplas in the USA, Korea, and Europe. Enplas's patent has been revoked in Taiwan.
Since patent litigation between the two firms began, Seoul has pursued enforcement of its LED backlight lens and system patents against infringing products by Enplas. On 24 March, a US jury ruled that Enplas had actively induced infringement of Seoul's patented technology with respect to all of the patent claims presented by Seoul. The jury found that Enplas' infringement was willful. It also unanimously agreed that Seoul's LED backlight lens patents were valid, rejecting all of Enplas' invalidity arguments. The jury awarded Seoul $4.07m in damages for induced infringement.
Previously, in the USA, Seoul filed inter partes review (IPR) petitions against three backlight lens patents owned by Enplas. All three were invalidated by the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board. In Korea, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the USPTO, invalidating all the claims of Enplas' backlight lens patent. In Europe, the European Patent Office declined to register Enplas' backlight lens patent based on prior art references that were brought to its attention by Seoul.
On 26 January, Seoul filed an invalidation action against Enplas' backlight lens patent in Taiwan based on the same invalidity grounds. Enplas was unable to defend against these invalidation contentions and has had to cancel all of its patent claims, which has resulted in revocation of the patent.
"A series of patent litigations against Enplas has demonstrated that Seoul Semiconductor has pioneered patent portfolios regarding LED backlight technology," says Seung Ryeol Ryu, Seoul's IT application R&D officer. "We are continuously monitoring third-party companies that are infringing our patented technology and will pursue enforcement actions where necessary to protect our company's long-standing investment in intellectual property."
