German court upholds Hanwha Q CELLS patent infringement case

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
As it stands, legal proceedings that challenge the validity of the ‘215’ and ‘689’ patents are pending before the European Patent Office (EPO), while the Düsseldorf Court judgment can be appealed to the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf. The Australian infringement case remains outstanding. Image: ISFH

The Regional Court of Düsseldorf, Germany has confirmed Hanwha Q CELLS patent ‘689’ infringement case against two major ‘Solar Module Super League’ (SMSL’s) members, JinkoSolar and LONGi Solar, as well as PV module manufacturer REC Group. 

Hanwha Q CELLS' ‘689’ patent is very similar to the ‘215’ patent that the US ITC recently rejected after its investigation into that patent’s claimed infringement. However, Q CELLS has also confirmed it would appeal the US ITC ruling. 

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

As it stands, legal proceedings that challenge the validity of the ‘215’ and ‘689’ patents are pending before the European Patent Office (EPO), while the Düsseldorf Court judgment can be appealed to the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf. A separate Australian infringement case remains outstanding.

Dr. Daniel Jeong, CTO of Q CELLS, said: “We are pleased that the Regional Court of Düsseldorf has confirmed what we knew to be true all along. As we eagerly stressed when we filed the lawsuit in 2019, intellectual property laws exist to incentivize innovation and protect those innovations from being unfairly used. The protection of intellectual property rights is of foremost importance for our fast-evolving solar industry to ensure continued development of breakthrough technological innovations.”

Q CELLS had previously indicated that it could include other PV cell manufacturers in future patent infringement cases.

Jeong added, “Also, we cannot ignore the possibility that the accused companies might have applied the ‘689’ patent to their other products. Q CELLS will continue to take all necessary actions including direct litigations as well as industry dialogues, if and when our rights are violated by another party in other regions.”

Read Next

October 9, 2025
Germany has awarded contracts to 490MW of solar-plus-storage projects in its latest “innovation” auction for co-located renewables.
October 9, 2025
The retroactive collection of duties on historical solar imports to the US has been temporarily paused pending the outcome of an appeal.
October 8, 2025
US solar module prices jumped in Q3 2025 as developers scrambled to meet the 2 September 2025 safe harbour deadline for Investment Tax Credit (ITC) qualification, according to supply chain platform Anza.
Premium
October 6, 2025
Talon PV aims to be the first US company to safely manufacture TOPCon cells at scale, backed by European technology and a crucial First Solar licensing deal.
October 6, 2025
German solar inverter manufacturer SMA Solar will cut 350 jobs in 2026 as it adapts to the “weak” residential PV market.
October 3, 2025
The US solar manufacturing industry is feeling bullish, despite the policy whiplash inflicted over the summer and the increased pressure on US solar supply chains.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK