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Solas’s German patent win is upheld

An Irish company which owns intellectual property relating to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology has won a further legal victory in a patent infringement case in Germany.

In early November, the Mannheim District Court ruled that a number of companies linked to consumer electronics giants LG and Sony had infringed Solas’s German patent concerning a control circuit for light-emitting diodes.

Temporary stay

The technology at issue is used in screens in certain LG and Sony OLED televisions. The defendants were told to cease and desist from marketing infringing products in Germany, but they subsequently filed an appeal and requested a stay on the injunction.

The Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court imposed a temporary stay on the injunction on 26 November to consider the merits of the request, but the Karlrushe court has now ruled in favour of Solas, meaning the injunction comes into force.

Damages

As well as halting the marketing of infringing products, the LG and Sony companies will have to recall all such products from commercial customers.

They will also have to provide detailed accounts to Solas to establish damages owed for sales of products in Germany dating back to April 2009.

Aoife Butler, general counsel for Solas’s management company Atlantic IP Services, said the firm was very happy with the decision and gratified that it could get equal footing against “gigantic companies” in a court of law.