ANSAN, South Korea – Seoul Viosys (KOSDAQ: 092190), a subsidiary of Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd., announced that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit with the Hague District Court in the Netherlands, seeking to enjoin UV LED products in European countries. 

 

This litigation arose out of an earlier patent lawsuit filed by Seoul Viosys against FNAC Darty Group, a large European retailer, in France in September 2021. At that time, the Judicial Court of Paris ordered the search and seizure of evidence of suspected infringement against FNAC Darty Group. Based on that seizure, Seoul Viosys learned that accused UV LED products are being imported and distributed from the Netherlands. To prevent the further distribution of infringing products across European countries, Seoul Viosys filed a patent infringement lawsuit against FTHMM International B.V., a Netherlands trading company, in the Hague District Court of the Netherlands, seeking a preliminary injunction against the allegedly infringing UV LED products.

 

Seoul Viosys and SETi, a US-based UV LED pioneer, co-developed and mass-produced the world's first UV LED that emits UV light with optical semiconductor technology. This has resulted in a tremendous increase in sales in the UV LED industry, with Seoul Viosys as the top producer of such LEDs. As the market has expanded, however, so has the number of sales of infringing products. As a result, Seoul Viosys has had to expand its enforcement and take legal action to protect its intellectual property in South Korea, Japan, the U.S., and Europe. Remarkably, Seoul Viosys has won all thirty cases that it has brought over the last three years in six different countries, including its successful pursuit of a permanent injunction against the sales of infringing products in one of these cases. 

 

Youngjoo Lee, CEO of Seoul Viosys, remarked, "Based on its founding spirit of innovation and improvement, Seoul’s UV LEDs will continue to lead the world in products for clean air and water, as well as sterilizing against dangerous contaminants like coronavirus.  Seoul has not only increased the capacity of such products by five times, it has done so while producing products at significantly lower prices.” Lee also pointed out: “Seoul Viosys, SETi and Nitride Semiconductors Co., Ltd., its strategic partner in Japan, have developed, owned and mass produced this technology for many years. No one else can develop optical semiconductor UV LED technology without using our fundamental patents. When intellectual property is respected, the market will provide fair opportunities to all, including young entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized enterprises around the world.”