A patent infringement lawsuit filed by Maxeon against Canadian Solar has been dismissed with prejudice in the US Federal District Court.
The case pertains to two patent infringements alleged by Maxeon in recent years that cover front-contact solar PV cells with emitters. In January, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ruled in favour of Canadian Solar, and this week’s dismissal of the case ‘with prejudice’ means that Maxeon will not be able to reopen investigations into these particular patents. If the case was dismissed ‘without prejudice’, Maxeon would have the ability to reopen the case.
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“We are very pleased with the resolution of these proceedings, which affirms Canadian Solar’s continued ability to compete through technology and manufacturing leadership,” said Canadian Solar CEO Colin Parkin. “We respect intellectual property rights and will continue to defend our technology, support our customers and bring leading innovations to market.”
Canadian Solar also announced that the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a PTAB decision relating to what it described as “Maxeon’s remaining claim”. In January, PTAB ruled in favour of Canadian Solar in two cases, but ruled against the company in a third claim, writing that Canadian Solar “does not show by a preponderance of evidence” that claims made against a third patent, 11,251,315 B2, are unpatentable.
It is unclear if the US Court of Appeals ruling relates to this third patent ruling, and PV Tech has asked both Canadian Solar and Maxeon for clarification on this point. At the time of writing, Maxeon has also not commented publicly on the rulings.
The news is the latest legal victory for Canadian Solar, which has often been involved in the ‘lawfare’ that has become common in the global solar sector. In April, the PTAB threw out claims made by leading Chinese manufacturer Trina Solar against both Canadian Solar and fellow Chinese firm Runergy. Maxeon, too, has been involved in a number of legal disputes, most recently agreeing to dismiss a court case in which it accused Hanwha of patent infringement of tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell technology.
