Seoul Semiconductor Obtains Permanent Injunction Against Fry’s Electronics

ANSAN, South Korea — Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (“Seoul”) announced that it has successfully obtained a judgment of permanent injunction in a patent infringement lawsuit against Fry’s Electronics, one of the largest big-box retailer of consumer electronics in the United States.

The Texas Eastern District federal court issued a permanent injunction against the sales of several TV and lighting products, including a Philips TV product, as well as light bulbs of Feit Electric, according to a stipulation made between Seoul and Fry’s.

In its litigation, Seoul asserted 19 patented technologies significant for LED TV and bulb components. These technologies include a Multi-Wavelength Insulation Reflector widely used for “0.5W to 3W” level mid-power LED packages, BLU (“Back light Unit) Lens Technology for providing uneven distribution of lights on display, LED packages with enhanced durability, and WICOP (Wafer Level Integrated Chip On PCB) patents enabling LED chips to be soldered to a PCB without an LED package – the world’s first developed revolutionary technology.

In particular, Seoul’s “BLU Lens Technology” is a unique technology applicable not only to TVs and monitors but also any type of flat display that distributes light evenly on a wide area of the display unit.

Recently, Seoul has obtained a series of permanent injunctions in the U.S. and Germany, prohibiting the sales of various infringing products, such as High-Power LED packages, Mid-Power LED packages, LED light bulbs, LED filament bulbs, and LED TVs. The patented technologies involved in these cases can be characterized as follows:

Comparison of each generation’s characteristics

“We hope that Seoul’s success story based on significant R&D efforts will set a good example for young entrepreneurs and small businesses struggling to have their talents recognized in the market,” says Seoul’s founder Chung Hoon Lee. “We will continue necessary actions against companies that we suspect of infringing our patents or of having unlawful access to our trade secrets by soliciting employees,” added Lee.