(Image: LEDinside)

Epistar yesterday announced it has agreed with Kaistar Lighting on the licensing of LED filament patents. The LED filament bulb products manufactured by Kaistar and its subsidiaries (including Bridgelux, SINOTRON Lighting, and Interlight Optotech) are licensed under Epistar’s filament patents.

Key intellectual properties regarding the LED filament technology used in making LED filament bulbs are owned by Epistar. The LED filament IP portfolio covers technologies concerning LED filament structures, and LED filament-based lighting products. This patent portfolio is effective in regions including Taiwan, China, United States, Europe and other territories.

In terms of appearance, LED filament bulbs resemble traditional incandescent filament lamps, which makes them more accepted in Europe and the States. The shipment of LED filament bulbs drastically surged to meet the growing demand. They has become one of the mainstream products in those regions.

However, the ownerships of LED filament related patents are yet to be fully clarified when it comes to patent filing. Local companies in China, Japan, Europe, and America all claim they possess a portion of key LED filament patents, while multinational lighting companies emphasize the validity of their patents when choosing partners. This is exactly why the two companies signed the licensing agreement and decided to team up, a source told LEDinside.

Through the collaboration, Epistar intends to assist Kaistar with its IP portfolio proved valid. The LED chip supplier will offer the lighting manufacturer LED chips for the production of LED filaments as well as fixture designing services to ensure the product validity.

Epistar also made it clear that it will take actions to protect its intellectual properties in the wake of the recurrence of patent infringement and continuously escalating patent wars in the LED filament market.