Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer Epistar revenue in June 2016 was down 2.3% to NT $2.11 billion (US $65.87 million) compared to a month earlier, due to inventory take during the end of second quarter, according to a MoneyDJ report.

MLS announced recently that it will be injecting up to RMB 1.5 billion (US $ 223.97 million) in a Chinese LED company, and has commissioned Allbright Law Office and Ruihua Certified Public Accountants to assist in legal and financial issues.

Ritdisplay, a subsidiary of Ritek Group, is an OLED panel maker. This year the market's demand has been strong. In first half of 2016, its revenue reached NT $997 million (US $31.21 million), and its annual growth rate surpassed 40%, according to a MoneyDJ report.

Is the long-anticipated rebound in the panel industry finally coming? South Korean panel maker, LG Display (LGD) CEO Sang Boem Han expressed on Wednesday that the market already showed signs of improvement. He expected that LGD's revenues will improve by second half of 2016.

Cree has sold off its profitable GaN driver and RF business to Infineon for $850 million, so it can focus on its LED business, said the company. The Asian Development Bank announced it will be financing about US $50 million in Malaysian state Melaka smart LED streetlight project, which involves retrofitting 100,000 streetlights. LEDinside also had the chance to speak to Lawrence Lin, General Manager of MLS or Forest Lighting, about the company’s strategic distribution partnership with YACG in Taiwan, and its current LED package strategies.

The U.S. Department of Energy's CALiPER program has released a new Snapshot report on linear LED lamps, commonly known as TLEDs. 

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) announced that ANSI Accredited Standards Committee C136 published ANSI C136.49-2016 American National Standard for Roadway and Area Lighting Equipment—Plasma Lighting. This new standard defines the electrical and mechanical requirements of plasma type light sources for use in roadway and area lighting luminaires.

Noribachi, a leading U.S.-based custom LED manufacturer for high output commercial and industrial lighting solutions, today announced its continued growth in second quarter of 2016 due to the launch of its ALiVE product line, expansion of its regional sales organization and enhanced manufacturing capabilities.

Cree, a market leader in LED lighting, today announced execution of a definitive agreement to sell its Wolfspeed Power and RF division (“Wolfspeed”), which includes the silicon carbide substrate business for power, RF and gemstone applications, to Infineon Technologies AG for $850 million in cash. 

Earlier reports from China this week claimed Chinese online video platform LeEco formerly branded as LETV acquired leading U.S. LCD TV manufacturer VIZIO, according to a TechNews report.

Taiwanese LED manufacturer Harvatek's revenue growth was incremental during first half of 2016. However, following its success in LED thread technology, the company intends to supply related products to the market by second half of 2016, resulting in turn around of its financial performance.

Ryuchi Kaga, Head of the Office of Public-Private Partnerships of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Datuk HJ. Kamarudin Bin MD Shah, CEO of Melaka Green Technology Corporation, signed a transaction advisory services agreement today that will pave the way for a public-private partnership (PPP) project to install energy efficient road lights in the Malaysian state of Melaka. 

SemiLEDs Corporation, "SemiLEDs" or the "Company," a developer and manufacturer of LED chips and LED components, today announced its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2016, ended May 31, 2016.

The BILTON Group has established itself on the market with innovative products and newly-conceived production processes as a specialist for flexible linear LED lighting and intelligent light management systems. With the recently-conducted capital increase of EUR 1.6 million (US $1.78 million), the model company from Salzburg is now fit for rapid expansion. After a growth of over 70% in the last fiscal year, an increase in turnover for this year of more than 100% is planned.

The eighth annual SYLVANIA Socket Survey, a nationwide measure of public attitudes about energy-efficient lighting and awareness of lighting trends, was released today by LEDVANCE. The industry-benchmark survey found lighting to be one of the top forms of smart technology Americans own, with a 40% increase since 2015. The results also showed more than 60% of Americans believe smart lighting fits their lifestyle, and 55% confirmed they’re likely to purchase smart lighting when they need new bulbs. 

Illumination Devices (www.illuminationdevices.com), an established innovator and manufacturer of high performance LED light engine technology, has announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued US Patent Number 9,338,838 covering a half or quarter-cycle current regulator for non-isolated, line voltage LED ballast circuits.

Premier Holding, the parent company of an ESCO, an energy seller and a reseller in deregulated markets, announces that its 100% owned subsidiary Energy Efficiency Experts (E3) has been awarded the contract to be the material provider of hundreds of LED lights to Inland Star for its 210,000 square foot warehouse in Carson, California. The facility is leased from Prologis Inc. a global industrial real estate investment trust (REIT) who owns, manages and develops approximately 3,000 logistics and distribution facilities across the US, Asia and Europe, serving approximately 4,700 customers across a diverse range of industries.

By the end of the summer of 2016, Northampton in Massachuseets, U.S. plans on replacing all of the city’s public streetlights, over 2,000 lamps, with new LED lights saving the city an estimated US $170,000 in operating costs annually. 

Revolution Lighting Technologies, a global provider of advanced LED lighting solutions, today announced that its division, TNT Energy, is installing a US $4.3 million turnkey LED retrofit Performance Contract with Siemens Industry Inc. Building Technologies Division for the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Compared to other manufacturers in the industry, MLS is optimistic about LED market developments and market potential with plans of scaling up LED package production this year from 50 billion PCS to 70 billion PCS, said MLS General Manager Lawrence Lin recently at a strategic partnership agreement signing ceremony with Taiwanese lighting manufacturer YACG at Denwell restaurant last Sunday.

Chinese LED package manufacturer MLS signed a strategic distribution partnership agreement with Taiwanese LED luminaire manufacturer YACG last Sunday at Denwell restaurant, Taipei, Taiwan.

EVERLIGHT filed a declaratory judgment action against Nichia Corporation (“Nichia”) for invalidity and non-infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,998,925 and 7,531,960 in the U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Michigan in 2012. These two patents are directed to YAG phosphor being used in LEDs and phosphor concentration. The court on January 19, 2016 denied Nichia’s motions and confirmed the April 22, 2015 jury verdict that all asserted claims of Nichia’s patents were invalid. In addition to the U.S. court ruling, from 2014, EVERLIGHT has continued to receive favorable rulings in Japan and Germany that Nichia’s patents are invalid. 

AIXTRON, a worldwide leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, announced today that Chinese optoelectronics manufacturer Xiamen Changelight has successfully finalized the qualification of AIXTRON’s Close Coupled Showerhead MOCVD system AIX R6. 

Waterproof LED strip lighting has been added to the 1000Bulbs.com inventory, making strip lighting accessible for outdoor applications. Submersible waterproof LED strip lights are the newest addition to 1000Bulbs.com’s extensive inventory. The 1-foot, 3-foot, and 16-foot lengths of silicone-coated LEDs are Ingress Protection rated (IP-rated) for significant water exposure. The IP-68 rating means the warm white or cool white strip lights can be safely submerged in water up to 6 feet deep.

Seoul Semiconductor has successfully revoked Japanese lens maker Enplas’s LED lens patent in Taiwan, adding to a string of legal victories against Enplas in the U.S., Korea, and Europe. As a result of Seoul’s challenge, Enplas’s patent has been revoked in Taiwan.

Shirley Coyle, LC, assumed the office of President of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) starting from July 1, 2016, the international leader in lighting education, standards, publications and professional development. Coyle succeeds Mark Roush.

Indian officials from two government agencies have cautioned consumers purchasing LED bulbs from local manufacturers to pay special attention to whether the bulbs have the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) label to ensure the bulbs meet photo biological standards and do not cause harm to vision, reported Economic Times.

Aimed at helping customers meet tight project deadlines, MaxLite introduces a Quick Ship Program that provides high quality LED lighting solutions at rapid delivery speed.

Arianna Tozzi of The Climate Group addresses World Bank observations of LED lighting trends in Brazil. A Forum on ‘Business Modls for Energy Efficient Public Lighting’ was held in São Paulo, Brazil on June 1, 2016. The event was attended by over 250 street lighting stakeholders, including senior representation from over 30 major cities, private sector financiers, development banks and manufacturers.

Nichia Corporation (“Nichia”) and Hirose Radio & Electronics, (“Hirose”), a Japanese corporation manufacturing and selling electronic appliances, have reached an agreement to settle the case which was pending between the parties in the Tokyo District Court (“The Case”). The Case was a preliminary injunctions case, in which Nichia claimed that its Japanese patents Nos. 5177317 and 5610056 (both patents relate to white LEDs using YAG phosphors and will hereafter be referred to as “Nichia YAG Patents”) were infringed by some of the LED lights imported and sold in Japan by Hirose, and sought a preliminary injunction against the importation and sale of infringing products.