On 23 May, Nitride Semiconductor Co Ltd of Tokushima, Japan filed a patent infringement lawsuit with the US District Court, Northern District of California, against ultraviolet (UV) LED maker Rayvio Corp of Haywood, CA, USA.
In the complaint, Nitride is seeking injunction, damages and accounting, asserting that Rayvio infringes its US patent 6,861,270 (‘Method for Manufacturing Gallium Nitride Compound Semiconductor and Light Emitting Element’) by manufacturing its products. The patented invention is said to significantly contribute to improving the light-emitting efficacy of LEDs.
Nitride Semiconductor says that, with professor Shiro Sakai of Tokushima University, it succeeded in developing the first highly efficient UV-LEDs in 2000, and has since continued to manufacture and sell UV-LEDs, including making a huge investment in R&D. The firm says that it will take resolute action against infringers in any country where appropriate and necessary to protect its patents and other intellectual property rights.
