Toyoda Gosei calls for caution regarding LED patents

Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd, one of the world's leading LED manufacturers, has surprised the community by issuing a press release advising "the fullest caution to avoid infringement" of its patents on GaN-based LEDs, according to LEDs Magazine.

Toyoda's rivals including Nichia and Osram Opto Semiconductors have been active in recent years in pursuing companies which they believe infringe their patents, and have also publicly announced licensing agreements for their technology However, Toyoda has kept relatively quiet, despite owning a patent portfolio which is second to none and arguably forms the basis for the entire GaN-based LED industry.

Toyoda has signed two major agreements with its rivals; an agreement with Nichia dating back to September 2002 and a more recent agreement with Philips Lumileds signed in April 2006. Toyoda says that these separate agreements allow the parties to utilize each other’s LED-related patents, and also says that it licenses the use of particular LEDs as defined in individual agreements.

The Toyoda press release goes on to say that "because the manufacture, sale, or use of GaN-based semiconductor LEDs by any entity other than these may constitute infringement of Toyoda Gosei’s patents, Toyoda Gosei advises the fullest caution to avoid infringement." The company says it has filed more than 2,000 patent applications related to GaN-based semiconductor LEDs, and has acquired patent rights on some 600 of these.