A German court has mandated the recall and destruction of certain products from Signify, a Netherlands-based lighting manufacturer, for infringing patents held by South Korea’s Seoul Semiconductor. The ruling, announced on Thursday by Seoul Semiconductor, also imposes a potential fine of up to €250,000 ($259,925) for each violation of the order.
The court in Düsseldorf directed the actions against Conrad Electronic, a distributor of the infringing products, according to the statement from Seoul Semiconductor. The South Korean company has consistently defended its intellectual property rights, citing its investment of approximately 10% of its revenue in research and development. Seoul Semiconductor also boasts a portfolio of more than 18,000 patents related to light-emitting diode (LED) technology.
Signify, the world’s largest lighting manufacturer, emerged as an independent entity after its spin-off from Philips in 2016. The company responded to the ruling by stating that the patents in question have expired and confirmed it had initiated legal proceedings to demonstrate their invalidity. Further details on this legal challenge were not disclosed.
Seoul Semiconductor has previously pursued litigation against multinational corporations over patent issues. The latest ruling underscores its active stance in protecting its innovations and intellectual property.
The case highlights ongoing tensions between innovation and intellectual property enforcement in the competitive global LED technology market.
Featured image courtesy of www.epochtimes.com
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