Solar manufacturer Maxeon has filed a new patent infringement lawsuit against fellow PV manufacturer Aiko before the Munich Regional Court I in Germany.
The new lawsuit accuses Aiko and its European distribution network of allegedly infringing Maxeon’s core back contact (BC) solar technology patent EP2297789B1. The allegation concerns Aiko’s second-generation and third-generation BC solar PV module products currently sold in the European market.
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This is not the first time that Maxeon has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Aiko in Europe. Maxeon filed a patent lawsuit in November 2023 in Germany over its European patent for back-contact solar cell architecture. The lawsuits were filed against Shanghai Aiko Solar, its subsidiaries, and wholesaler Memodo. A year later, Maxeon filed a complaint before the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Local Division in Düsseldorf regarding alleged infringement of its patent EP3065184. That same year, a Dutch court rejected a back contact solar cell lawsuit from Maxeon against Aiko.
In all three instances, the patents in question were related to Maxeon’s BC solar technology.
“Maxeon strongly believes in free and fair competition and respecting hard-earned intellectual property rights across the entire sales channel, especially manufacturers, distributors, and major customers. Distributors who sell infringing products can be liable for injunctions and damages, even if they are not manufacturers,” said Marc Robinson, Maxeon’s associate general counsel.
“As in our prior actions against Aiko, we continue to target distributors as defendants. This lawsuit should serve as a reminder that patent infringement risk is not limited to manufacturers. Manufacturers and distributors of infringing product each carry risks of patent infringement,” added Robinson.
With this latest lawsuit, Maxeon is seeking a permanent injunction against Aiko and the other defendants – which includes four German solar distributors: Wattkraft, DWH Solutions, Memodo and Tepto –, disclosure of sales data for the accused products and compensation for damages. The company also seeks the destruction of infringing inventory held in Germany.
PV Tech has reached out to Aiko for a comment.
Moreover, Maxeon reached a settlement agreement with Chinese solar giant Tongwei over shingled solar cell technology patents earlier this year.
Lawsuits related to patent infringement from solar manufacturers have decreased slightly in 2025, following a year marked by many patent infringement lawsuits or investigations across the globe on a near-monthly basis in 2024.
