Green Patent Blog®

Litepanels, LTD, a UK company, and Litepanels, Inc., a Los Angeles-based corporation (collectively ”Litepanels”), make LED lighting systems for use in film and TV production. 

Last month Litepanels sued Dot Line Corp. (Dot Line) and Infocus Camera & Imaging, LLC (ICI) in federal court in Tyler, Texas, alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,948,823 (’823 Patent) and 7,604,361 (’361 Patent) (litepanels_complaint.pdf). 

The ‘823 Patent is entitled “Wide area lighting apparatus and effects system” and is directed to a camera mountable lighting frame (302) having multiple lamp segments (306) arranged in a radial pattern around a center hole (303).  Each lamp segment 306 comprises a plurality of LEDs (305).

The portable frame could be circular (as picture above) or rectangular.  When the portable frame is mounted to a movable camera, the frame follows the movements of the camera.

The ‘361 Patent is a continuation-in-part of the ‘823 Patent and is entitled “Versatile lighting apparatus and associated kit.”  It is directed to an LED light panel with a self-contained battery unit that provides power to the light elements but not to the camera.

Litepanels previously asserted the ‘823 Patent against Sony, which quickly settled the case about a month after the complaint was filed.

Adura Technologies, Inc. (Adura) is a San Francisco company that provides energy efficient wireless mesh networking technology for building automation and lighting solutions for retrofitting commercial buildings.   

Adura owns U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,655,507  (’507 Registration) (507_reg.pdf) for the ADURA mark for computer software and hardware for use in controlling, automating, scheduling and monitoring lighting systems for commercial buildings in Class 9 and providing online software for wireless commercial building automation in Class 42.

Last month Adura sued Adura Systems, Inc. (Adura Systems) for trademark infringement accusing the Silicon Valley electric vehicle power train developer of infringing the ‘507 Registration by using the ADURA mark as a brand name and trade name.

According to the complaint (adura_complaint.pdf), there is evidence of actual consumer confusion as Adura received multiple queries from third parties about affiliation between Adura and Adura Systems.

Another salient allegation in this case highlights the increasing difficulty clean tech companies face in standing out from the growing crowd of companies, both large and small, that have entered the clean tech space.  

The complaint alleges that Adura was omitted from the Cleantech Group’s Global Cleantech 100 list while Adura Systems was included on the list, at least in part, due to confusion arising from the defendant’s alleged trademark infringement:

Plaintiff Adura Technologies . . . alleges that those individuals tasked with identifying companies to be included on the Global Cleantech 100 were confused as to an affiliation by and between Plaintiff Adura Technologies and Defendant Adura Systems due to Defendant Adura Systems having adopted the ADURA mark . . . . Plaintiff Adura Technologies . . . alleges that those individuals tasked with identifying companies to be included on the Global Cleantech 100 were confused that Plaintiff Adura Technologies and Defendant Adura Systems were the same company due to the fact that Defendant Adura Systems has adopted the ADURA mark…

Three new light emitting diode (LED) patent infringement suits were filed last month, all in the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall.

In the first case, Japanese LED maker Nichia Corporation (Nichia) has accused Chinese solar products company Jiawei North America Inc. (Jiawei) of infringing four patents relating to LED technology.

According to Nichia’s bare bones complaint (nichia_complaint.pdf), Jiawei is infringing U.S. Patent Nos. 5,998,925 (’925 Patent), 7,026,756 (’756 Patent), 7,531,960 (’960 Patent) and 6,870,191 (’191 Patent).  The ‘925, ‘756 and ‘960 Patents are members of the same patent family.

The three related patents describe a light emitting diode (100) that minimizes deterioration in emission light intensity by including a phosphor in the coating resin (101) that covers the light emitting component (102).  The ‘756 Patent claims a garnet fluorescent material activated with cerium as the phosphor.

According to the ‘756 Patent, incorporating a phosphor in the LED reduces deterioration:

the phosphor used in the light emitting device has excellent resistance against light so that the fluorescent properties thereof experience less change even when used over an extended period of time while being exposed to light of high intensity.  This makes it possible to reduce the degradation of characteristics during long period of use and reduce deterioration due to light of high intensity emitted by the light emitting component . . . to provide a light emitting device which experiences less color shift and less luminance decrease.

In two lawsuits filed the same day, Light Transformation Technologies LLC (LTT), exclusive licensee of U.S. Patent No. 6,543,911 (’911 Patent), has accused a host of lighting and electronics companies of infringing the ‘911 Patent.

One complaint (ltt_complaint1.pdf) lists 15 defendants including LEDdynamics, Philips, Osram Sylvania and Volkswagen.  The other complaint (ltt_complaint2.pdf) names Alliance Electronics and several others. 

The accused products include lenses, optics, lighting products and automobile lights that either allegedly infringe the ‘911 Patent or are designed for use with allegedly infringing products. 

The ‘911 Patent is entitled “Highly efficient luminaire having optical transformer providing precalculated angular intensity distribution and method therefore.”  The central innovation of the ‘911 Patent is an integrated omnidirectional light transformer (100) that includes an optical window (110) and a support (120).   

The light transformer (100) may have an aspherical reflective surface (130) and be incorporated into lighting assembly or luminaire (300) along with a light source (310), a shell (320), a connector (330) and a printed circuit board (340).  The light source (310), which may be an LED, emits light rays (350, 352) that are reflected in accordance with the curvature of the reflective surface (130). 

According to the ‘911 Patent, this design results in luminaire (300) having a luminous intensity higher at lower angles, and all light emitted by the light source will be directed in a predetermined pattern. 

In particular, the luminaire 300 can redirect the light so that illuminance at a long range distance (i.e. at the lower observation angles) will be equal to illuminance at a short range distance (i.e. at the higher observation angles).  Therefore, as a driver in a car approaches the luminaire 300, the driver can perceive light of equal intensity at long distances and at short distances from the luminaire 300.

In previous posts (e.g., here and here), I’ve written about Columbia Professor Emeritus and LED innovator Gertrude Neumark Rothschild’s string of successful settlement agreements and patent licensing deals. 

Earlier this month, Mitsubishi became the latest potential infringement target to take a license, when the Japanese conglomerate chose to settle out of court with Ms. Rothschild. 

According to IPLaw360, Rothschild granted Mitsubishi certain rights to U.S. Patent No. 5,252,499, entitled “Wide band-gap semiconductors having low bipolar resistivity and method of formation.”

The ‘499 patent is directed to methods of doping semiconductors, which means adding impurities to increase the number of free charge carriers.  Rothschild’s patented technology has had a major impact on LEDs by making production of green, blue and other short wavelength LEDs more economically viable.

The announcement of the Mitsubishi settlement comes at about the same time that Rothschild dropped her ITC charges against Toshiba and Panasonic upon reaching agreements with those companies (see info on the Toshiba ITC termination order here and the Panasonic order here).

According to her attorney, quoted here by CNBC, Rothschild has reached settlements or licensing agreements with more than 40 companies generating more than $27 million.  Some of those companies include LG Electronices, Motorola, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Philips.

I’ve written before in this space about retired Columbia University Professor and LED innovator Gertrude Neumark Rothschild and her success litigating and licensing her patents (see, e.g., previous post here).  That success continues as four more defendants targeted by Rothschild in the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) settled recently.

The biggest name is Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (Sony), whose settlement with Rothschild was given final approval by the ITC in August when the commission decided not to review an administrative law judge’s (ALJ) inital determination terminating the investigation with respect to Sony.

Also, in an initial determination (ID) made public last month, an ALJ granted motions by Tyntek Corp., Tekcore Corp. and Arima Optoelectronics seeking orders terminating the ITC investigations into their allegedly infringing products (Tyntek ID, Tekcore ID, Arima ID).

The settlements come in two consolidated ITC actions in which Rothschild alleged that about three dozen LED and consumer electronics makers infringe U.S. Patent No. 5,252,499 (’499 patent), which relates to methods of making LEDs capable of emitting shorter wavelength light (see previous posts on these actions here and here).

The ‘499 patent is directed to methods of doping semiconductors, which means adding impurities to increase the number of free charge carriers.  Rothschild’s patented technology has had a major impact on LEDs by making production of green, blue and other short wavelength LEDs more economically viable.