On July 31, 2019, Mitsubishi Chemical reported that it has obtained a judgement recognizing the infringement of its patent for red phosphor in China by the defendants, U.S.-based Intematix Corporation, its affiliate in China, Intematix Suzhou Lighting and its sales agency, GrandLux Optoelectronics.

In response, Intematix and Intematix Optoelectronics (Suzhou) filed an appeal at the Beijing Higher People’s Court explaining how the Court’s decision was improper in view of the applicable law and facts.

Intermatix also noted that according to the provisions of Article 155 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, if one party appeals, the first-instance judgment will not have legal effect during the trial of the second instance. Therefore, Intematix will be able to continue its red nitride phosphor business as usual.

The red phosphor patent infringement complaint was filed by Mitsubishi Chemical in 2015 in China, accusing Intematix and two companies of infringing the patent (No. ZL201110066517.7*) for red phosphor which is owned by Mitsubishi Chemical and the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS).