In its complaint, Seoul asserts that SATCO is selling various LED lighting products that infringe “eleven” (11) of Seoul’s patents covering LED driver technology, including U.S. Patent 7,081,722, U.S. Patent 9,807,828; U.S. Patent 8,513,899; and U.S. Patent 8,716,946.
The asserted LED driver patents are widely used in replacement bulbs in the form of incandescent or fluorescent lamps, wall-mount lights, and ceiling lights. The patented technology covers products with a linear driver for directly operating LEDs under household voltage, a step operation driver for generating flicker-free lights, as well as a dimmable driver for realizing smart lighting.
Seoul has successfully enforced its LED driver patents in several prior litigations spanning the different parts of the market, including big box retailer, LED lighting maker, and application maker segments of the market.
Seoul’s Acrich NanoDriver Series devices, made with this patented technology, was named as a winner in the Sapphire Award category “ICs & Electronic Components for Solid State Lighting.” By virtue of its continuous technology innovations, Seoul owns over 250 patents concerning LED driver technology around the world.
Acrich driver technology applies to an estimated 70% of residential light bulbs throughout the global lighting market, and Seoul estimates that Acrich’s applications will continue to expand.
“Seoul has invested an approximately 10 percent of its sales revenue each year to innovate technology. Last year, we invested even more to ensure that we are at the cutting edge of technology,” said Nam Ki-bum, Executive Vice President of the Lighting Department at Seoul. “But unfair competition by copying innovative products must stop. Only then will others, including young entrepreneurs and small businesses, have a chance to have their talents recognized in the market.”
About Seoul Semiconductor
Seoul Semiconductor develops and commercializes LEDs for automotive, general illumination, specialty lighting, and backlighting markets. As the second-largest LED manufacturer globally excluding the captive market, Seoul Semiconductor holds more than 14,000 patents, offers a wide range of technologies, and mass produces innovative LED products such as SunLike – delivering the world’s best light quality in a next-generation LED enabling human-centric lighting optimized for circadian rhythms; WICOP – a simpler structured package-free LED which provides market leading color uniformity and cost savings at the fixture level, providing high lumen density and design flexibility; NanoDriver Series – the world’s smallest 24W DC LED drivers; Acrich, the world's first high-voltage AC-driven LED technology developed in 2005, including all AC LED-related technologies from chip to module and circuit fabrication, and nPola, a new LED product based on GaN-substrate technology that achieves more than ten times the output of conventional LEDs. UCD constitutes a high color gamut display which delivers more than 90% NTSC. For more information, please visit www.seoulsemicon.com/en.