Seoul Semic files patent infringement suit agains Conrad

Seoul Semiconductor has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against European retailer of electronic products, Conrad Electronic S.E. The lawsuit was filed in Germany in the District Court of Manheim.

This litigation is the second one involving mobile phone products following the litigation against Conrad for infringement of backlight unit LEDs filed in July. According to the complaint, LEDs for flashlights of mobile phones sold by Conrad are infringing Seoul’s patent, a press release reads. The patented technology in this litigation is “the Roughened Light Extraction Surface” technology that efficiently extracts light emitted from the internal LED structure by treating LED chip surfaces, thereby significantly improving light intensity and brightness – a fundamental technology of LED chip fabrication. This patent has already been the subject of an injunction from a German court in December 2018 against LED products from a global LED manufacturer. The patented technology has now been registered in 12 major countries, including the United States, Europe and Asia, and has been widely used for automobile headlamps, UV and outdoor lighting, as well as cell phone flashlights. Seoul has already warned manufacturers of global mobile phones to cease using LED products suspected of infringement. Seoul investigates mobile phones incorporating such products and will consider any legal enforcement necessary if such infringement continues unabated, the press release continues. Seoul has already filed three patent infringement lawsuits against distributors of suspected infringing products in Europe alone and plans to expand its enforcement further given the confirmation of its technology from the German courts, where Seoul has obtained permanent injunctions against infringement of Seoul’s patents.

ACM Research, a supplier of wafer cleaning technologies for semiconductor devices, says that its operating subsidiary ACM Research (Shanghai), has begun construction of its new development and production facility in the Lingang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

AZUR SPACE has acquired the electronics business of GaN-on-Si epiwafer expert ALLOS Semiconductors.

Swedish Fingerprint Cards has teamed with global semiconductor powerhouse, STMicroelectronics, to develop an advanced Biometric System-on-Card (BSoC) solution based on fingerprint-recognition technology.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on June 29 that the newly instituted Hong Kong national security law by the Chinese government will increase “the risk that sensitive U.S. technology will be diverted to [the Chinese government]”; the Department therefore put a temporary stop to the preferential treatment the U.S. had afforded to Hong Kong.

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Arm is looking to strengthen its focus on growth and profitability. To achieve this the company has proposed strategic organisational changes – which involves the transferring of businesses.

ROHM and Leadrive Technology, a Chinese manufacturer of automotive powertrain for new energy vehicles, have already held the opening ceremony for their joint laboratory on SiC technology in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Lingang New Area).

Imagination Technologies says that NXP has extended its license for Imagination’s Ethernet Packet Processor (EPP) IP for use in S32 vehicle network processors.

Synaptics Incorporated has signed definitive agreements under which Synaptics will acquire certain assets and manufacturing rights associated with the wireless IoT business of Broadcom for approximately USD 250 million in an all-cash transaction.

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As Apple’s upcoming release of products featuring Mini LED backlight generates a growth in Mini LED demand, the company has also stimulated actors in the Mini LED supply chain to increase their production capacities.