After an almost two-year ordeal, some solutions have been decided within the TOPCon mental patent lawsuit between Maxeon and Canadian Photo voltaic.
In March 2024, Maxeon alleged Canadian Photo voltaic had infringed on three patents associated to TOPCon photo voltaic panel manufacturing: Patent Nos. 8,222,516 (the ’516 patent), 8,878,053 (the ’053 patent), and 11,251,315 (the ’315 patent).
- ‘516 patent: Entrance Contact Photo voltaic Cell with Shaped Emitter
- ‘053 patent: Entrance Contact Photo voltaic Cell with Shaped Emitter
- ‘315 patent: Photo voltaic Cells with Improved Lifetime, Passivation and/or Effectivity
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Workplace’s Patent Trial and Attraction Board dominated this week that two of the claims have been unpatentable whereas the third was inconclusive. Canadian Photo voltaic has positioned this as a win.
“The ultimate resolution issued by the USPTO as soon as once more affirms that Canadian Photo voltaic’s know-how and authorized groups have at all times revered and positioned nice significance on defending each our personal and our friends’ mental property,” mentioned Colin Parkin, President of Canadian Photo voltaic. “On the identical time, we firmly oppose the misuse or weaponization of patents — significantly these missing patentability or sensible worth — which might distort competitors and impede real innovation.”
Outcomes from the attraction board:
- ‘516 patent: Canadian Photo voltaic confirmed that some parts of the patent are unpatentable, however not all.
- ‘053 patent: Canadian Photo voltaic confirmed that every one claims on the patent are unpatentable.
- ‘315 patent: Canadian Photo voltaic confirmed that every one claims on the patent are unpatentable.
All three patents are additionally referenced in Maxeon-ordered patent infringement lawsuits towards Hanwha and REC.
