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 denied a request for a preliminary injunction over 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.
A spokesperson from Aiko Solar told PV Tech that: “Upon review, this patent belongs to the same patent family as EP2297788, for which Maxeon Solar’s application for a preliminary injunction was rejected by a Dutch court on May 16, 2024.
“Following multiple verifications conducted by Aiko’s intellectual property team together with its cooperating European intellectual property law firms, Aiko hereby confirms that its ABC products are fundamentally different from the technical solutions covered by Maxeon Solar’s EP2297789 patent and do not infringe this patent.”
The Aiko spokesperson added that: “With respect to this lawsuit, the Company will actively respond and work closely with its global partners to jointly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. In line with the principles of integrity and transparency, the Company will promptly disclose material progress of this litigation.”
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.
This article was updated on 15 December 2025 to include a comment from Aiko Solar and updated on 16 December to clarify that the Dutch court denied a preliminary injunction.
