China’s Patent Office upholds the validity of REC Group’s patent against Hanwha Q Cells

REC Group has confirmed that the China Patent Office has upheld the validity of REC’s award-winning split cell and junction box technology patent. 

To protect its intellectual property, REC Group filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Hanwha Q Cells (Qidong) Co., Ltd. (part of Hanwha Q Cells) in February 2020. The China Patent Office’s decision, announced on January 4, 2021, follows Hanwha Q Cells’ request, made in May 2020, to challenge the validity of REC’s patent. REC Group also filed a lawsuit against Hanwha Q Cells asserting a related patent in the U.S. District of Delaware in November 2020.  

“We are pleased with this decision, confirming the novelty and inventiveness of REC Group’s industry leading innovations.  We have invested significant time, effort and resources to develop and perfect technology that improves the performance and reliability of our products in the interest of our customers,” says Dr. Shankar G. Sridhara, Chief Technology Officer of REC Group. “We remain committed to developing groundbreaking innovations, and believe robust intellectual property protection for breakthroughs such as this one is vital to advancing the renewable energy industry at large and foster energy transitions worldwide. We are confident of our enforcement actions and will continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property rights.”