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.

The company is planning a capacity expansion for 200mm and 300mm to answer the exceeding demand forecast.

Question: How can I increase the efficiency of my isolated power supply?

Sponsored content by Shenzen Kinwong Electronic

With the rapid development of electronic technology in recent years, printed circuit board (PCB) products are pursuing higher heat dissipation capabilities, with high voltage and high current characteristics, and are developing towards high-density interconnection technology (HDI).

US President Joe Biden has responded to the industry’s call to reinvigorate domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The president is pushing a USD 37 billion bill to identify solutions to the semiconductor shortfall.

Kioxia has started the construction of new fabrication facility at its Yokkaichi plant, located on the Mie Prefecture, Japan, to support the production of sixth-generation 3D flash memory.

The Swedish technology company has received an order for two SLX mask writers from an unnamed, but existing customer in the USA. The total order value is between USD 8 and 12 million.

HP Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire HyperX, the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, for USD 425 million.

As of December 2020, only TSMC—the world’s largest foundry—was listed among the wafer capacity leaders in each of the three wafer size categories. It had the most 200mm wafer capacity last year and ranked second, trailing only Samsung, in 300mm wafer capacity.

The Dutch supplier of semiconductor equipment has signed a five-year long deal, worth USD 4.3 billion, with SK Hynix as the South Korean company works to secure equipment to boost it output.

Up to 200 new engineering jobs will be created in Cork, Ireland as Microchip Technology invests USD 20 million to create a new development centre.

Driven by such factors as the continued development of autonomous driving technologies and the build-out of 5G infrastructure, the demand for automotive memories will undergo a rapid growth going forward, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations.