patent

Chinese solar PV manufacturer Aiko Solar will license a raft of solar cell technology patents from Singapore-based manufacturer Maxeon.

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has partially ruled against solar manufacturer Maxeon in several claims against Canadian Solar.

The Chinese government has released a range of policy measures to strengthen intellectual property (IP) protections in the country’s solar PV industry.

The European Patent Office (EPO) has revoked a patent for a key solar cell manufacturing process, which has been hailed as “good news” for European solar PV manufacturing.

US PV module manufacturer Silfab Solar has acquired a patent portfolio for back-contact (BC) solar cells from solar research firm EnPV.

Chinese module manufacturer JinkoSolar is suing rival producer Longi in Australia for alleged infringement of technology patents.

Maxeon opened the case in June 2023. The case concerns shingled solar cell technology patents used in Maxeon’s Performance line modules

Chinese solar manufacturer Trinasolar is engaged in two legal proceedings with the US government over patents and import tariffs.

The cases are being pursued against JinkoSolar, Canadian Solar, JA Solar, and Trinasolar, some of the world's largest PV manufacturers.

Fierce competition and the emergence of technologies such as TOPCon have led to an uptick in the prevalence of patent infringement lawsuits between PV companies. Tom Kenning reports.