The LED filament lamp market began 2019 with a patent lawsuit. Taiwan-based flexible LED filament developer Liquidleds filed a patent infringement lawsuit against French lighting company GIRARD SUDRON, requesting a halt of further sale of patent-infringing products. (Image: Liquidleds) Liquidleds on December 20, 2018 filed with the Mannheim Court of Germany a lawsuit accusing European lighting company GIRARD SUDRON of manufacturing and selling products that infringe Liquidleds’ patents in regard to flexible LED filament and filament b...

In March, LEDinside witnessed a Chinese lighting company being caught red-handed for showcasing patent-infringing LED filament bulbs at Light + Building 2018. Slightly later than that, we also learnt Epistar has approached and initiated talks with a few companies for IP collaborations at that fair. At TILS 2018 in April, LEDinside interviewed Epistar and got more details about the matter.

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.

Over the past few years, MLS has been attracting more and more global attention. Not only did the LED packaging company top the industry in China, the scale of its electronic manufacturing service (EMS) business ramped up at a speed its competitors failed to catch up. In 2017, the establishment of Global Value Lighting with Lighting Science and the acquisition of LEDVANCE from Osram evinced the ambition of MLS for a vertical integration to approach end markets.

Retro LED filament bulbs are trending from New York to London and installed at locations from retro bars, vogue restaurants, to households as intricate decorative lighting. Their appearances look similar to traditional incandescent lamps, but their light is softer. LEDfilament bulbs are not only used for decoration, but they also save energy and reduce carbon emission.

Power Photon launched its first LED Filament Tube and Cooling Package at the Taiwan Int’l Lighting Show (TILS) in 2016, followed by LED Filament Tube and Cooling Package Series ”mini DC LED filament light source”  at TILS 2017. After its successful development of mini AC commercial power drive module in recent years, Power Photon has developed the third phase of the LED Filament Tube and Cooling Package Series ”mini-AC LED filament light source” to be launched at TILS 2018.

LEDVANCE continues to advance light by announcing the world’s first HomeKit™-enabled smart Filament A19 bulb. The HomeKit-enabled SYLVANIA SMART+™ Soft White A19 Filament Bulb (MSRP $31.99) combines the future of the Smart Home with the retro look of the past,and is available for pre order for Spring 2018 delivery on Amazon.

LED filaments have been gaining popularity as its technology progressed. More new manufacturing equipment is introduced and the market keeps scaling up. A growing number of distributors and end-consumers show interest to want to know more about LED filaments.

Energy efficient lighting manufacturer Feit Electric announced that it’s partnering with Susan G. Komen in the fight against breast cancer.

AQLighting has announced their latest line of commercial ready outdoor LED string lights. Being UL approved, it has gone through extensive testing to ensure product safety and reliability. It comes with beautifully clear 1.5 watt filament bulbs which are dimmable, yet offers plenty of light output. The fixture itself is rated IP65 for dust and particle resistance, making it nearly waterproof and perfect for outdoor use.

Within the LED lighting industry, more and more companies shifted their focuses to niche markets and specialty lighting to get away from bitter price wars in the general lighting market. Sectors such as horticultural lighting, healthcare, shipping, and intelligent lighting began to witness the emergence of LED products, and it also seemed a definite trend to replace traditional low-price LED tubes with advanced high efficient ones. As for the decorative lighting market where consumes a massive amount of LEDs, it also experienced a series of changes when LED technology gradually takes hold. In light of the fact that it has earned a favourable reception among traders, distributors, and lighting designers, LED filament soon became considerably desirable to replace conventional low wattage LED bulbs and LED candle bulbs producing high thermal runaway. Accordingly, in recent years, LED filament has been a great hit in the market.

"Like before, but better". This is the motto LEDVANCE has chosen to present the broadest-ever LED lamp range under the Osram brand for the 2016/2017 lighting season. It symbolises the perfect combination of modern LED technology and classical lamp design. 

Plummeting LED lighting prices and net profits in the LED industry, has allowed LED filaments to emerge as the black horse in the market, placing it under the market spotlight. LED filaments were formerly plagued with manufacturing technology and yield rate issues, and in the past few years Epistar’s patent suits has placed LED filaments under the lime light again.

Several notable trends LEDinside observed at Taiwan International Lighting Show (TILS) 2016, which took place at Nangang Exhibition Hall from April 12-16, 2016 in Taipei, was more manufacturers showcasing filament LED bulbs, smart lighting products, and an emphasis on reducing glare in luminaire designs.

LED filament bulbs is an emerging product on the market that holds great market potential, with high visibility in the Middle East, Americas and Europe. It is also one of the most important lighting products in the Asian manufacturing supply chain. For instance, Taiwanese LED manufacturer Epistar currently holds crucial LED patents that comprise the core technology in LED filament bulbs. In an exclusive interview with Epistar managers and directors including Alexandar Wang, Director of the company’s Marketing Center Segment Group, the company’s Intellectual Property Division Meng-chun Kuo, Director, and Walter K.Y. Chou, Manager of the company’s Intellectual Property Department III, these managers revealed LED filament bulb market’s latest trends, technology development, and patent strategy deployment.

Plessey today announced the launch of its range of LED filaments, manufactured with the company’s MaGICTM GaN-on-Silicon LEDs. The filaments are designed for the surging filament bulb market where these replacement lamps have far better performance, but still maintain the physical appearance of incandescent lamps.

Epistar announced it has granted license to LEEDARSON LIGHTING to use Epistar’s filament patents in its products. Epistar holds key intellectual property regarding the LED filament technology used in making LED filament style lamps. This patent portfolio covers Taiwan, China, U.S., Europe and other territories.

LeDiamond (LED package manufacturer) announced that its Tesla filament has successfully completed the requirements of the rigorous 6000 hour lumen maintenance test (LM-80) by an international third-party laboratory organization (BACL). It’s a big breakthrough for LeDiamond on its LED filament development.