Nitride Semiconductors Co., Ltd. (“Nitride”), a pioneer of ultraviolet light emitting diode (UV-LED) technology, has filed complaints against Digi-Key Corporation, a global electrical components distributor, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, asserting infringement of Nitride’s UV-LED patent. In the complaints, Nitride is asserting that UV-LED products being supplied by various LED companies - such as American Opto Plus LED Corp., Crystal IS Inc., Kingbright Electronic Co., Ltd., Luminus Device, and QT-Brightek Corp. - have been infringing Nitride’s UV-LED patent.

Further, Nitride has filed a complaint against Lite-On Technology Corporation and its affiliates in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, asserting infringement of Nitride’s UV-LED patent.

On June 18, 2021, in relation to the above-mentioned lawsuits, Nitride has entered into a settlement and patent license agreement with QT-Brightek Corp. (headquartered in California) which provides that QT-Brightek Corp. does not dispute that its UV-LEDs infringe, and QT-Brightek Corp. has also agreed to respect Nitride’s patent.

As for other UV LED makers’ products, Nitride continues to pursue patent litigations in the Minnesota and Texas court.

Nitride is one of the earliest ground breakers in the field of UV-LEDs. With Professor Emeritus Shiro SAKAI at Tokushima University, Nitride succeeded in developing highly efficient UV-LEDs as early as 2000. This was the first time in the world such a breakthrough in UV LED technology had been achieved. Nitride has continued to manufacture and sell UV-LEDs thereafter, and has invested enormously in R&D to develop and enhance its UV-LED technology.

To protect its UV-LED patented technology, Nitride initiated its patent enforcement campaign starting in 2017. By virtue of such efforts, a judgment was issued out of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in favor of Nitride and against RayVio Corporation (“Rayvio”) in 2020, who infringed Nitride’s UV-LED patent. That judgment was also in Nitride’s favor with respect to the validity of its patent. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has also confirmed the validity of the key claims of Nitride’s patent in its final judgment on an Inter Parte Review case filed by RayVio.

Nitride considers its intellectual property rights to be vitally important company assets. Accordingly, Nitride will take any and all action necessary to enforce its patent against infringers in any country and uphold its patents and other intellectual property rights.