photo by Li Yang
Recently, the patent dispute case on white light LED lighting and displaying devices was concluded by Beijing Intellectual Property Court with the verdict of maintaining the validity of the patent right. The first-instance decision has already taken effect with each party not choosing to appeal.
It’s the first case of great influence made up by three judges and four jurors held by Beijing Intellectual Property Court since the implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on People's Assessors, manifesting the pursuits of building a professional intellectual property rights trial group on the basis of practice, utility and effectiveness by Beijing Intellectual Property Court.
Detailed Regulations about the Collegiate Bench of Seven by the Law of the People's Republic of China on People's Assessors
Article 14
In the case of collegiate bench trial made up by people’s assessors and judges, it can be composed as a collegiate bench of three with the judge assuming the office of chief judge, while it can also be constituted as a collegiate bench of seven by three judges and four people’s assessors.
Article 16
Following Four Types of Cases are Applicable for Collegiate Benches
(1) Severe criminal cases of great social influence which may be sentenced to imprisonment over 10 years, life imprisonment or death penalty.
(2) Public interest litigation instituted according to the Civil Procedure Law and the Administrative Procedure Law.
(3) Severe socially influential cases considering land expropriation, environmental protection and food and drug safety.
(4) Other severe socially influential cases.
Background Information
The invention of white light LED is another historical breakthrough after the invention of filament lamps. Nichia Corporation(NICHIA), third party of this case, which was awarded Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014 after the development of blue light LED, has researched and developed this patent of white light LED.
The patent litigation dispute between Everlight Electronics and NICHIA, the two international LED giants, has extended to the US, Germany, China and Chinese Taiwan. The family patent of the white light LED has been identified invalid in the US and Chinese Taiwan while identified valid in Germany. The verdict on whether the patent is valid in Mainland, China will not only decide the development of LED technology but also manifest China’s judicial criteria on patent authorization, therefore the case has attracted a great amount of focus all over the world.
This case is valued highly by Beijing Intellectual Property Court. One of the dispute focus, whether the patent is of originality, was discussed on the pretrial conference. Considering the complexity of the patent technology fact and inconsistent verdicts on originality of family patents by different countries, it was determined during the pretrial conference that the collegiate bench of seven should be led by chief judge Song Yushui, member of the Beijing Intellectual Property Court party group, vice president and director of the political department, accompanying the people’s assessors made up by 2 judges and 4 experts in optoelectronics and semiconductor fields.
By the host of chief judge Song Yushui, the collegiate bench carried out a comprehensive investigation on the technological fact with the entire involvement by technological investigating officer and experts. The parties fully delivered their ideas around the focus of the case.
Conclusion of the Trial by the Court
(1) The defendant’s decision is not against the principle of request.
(2) The patent specification discloses the technological solution on how to acquire its defined lighting devices. Technical practitioners can adjust to acquire white light on the basis of the solution.
(3) The patent claim meets the demand of the patent specification.
(4) The lighting environment of phosphor is quite different from that of compared document. And before the earliest day of priority, the white light LED researched is mainly concentrated on organic fluorescent dyestuff. The patent has taken an innovative method of mixing single blue-ray LED chip with YAG:Ce inorganic phosphor which can turn blue ray to color lights of longer wavelength to acquire white-light lighting device with higher lighting effectiveness, less deterioration and more robust stability. The patent is identified of originality which requires creative labor in exploration and experiments.
In conclusion, there’s a lack of factual and legal merits in the plaintiff's claim. The court judged to reject the claim of the plaintiff.
The first-instance decision has already taken effect with each party not choosing to appeal.
February 20, 2019
Source: Jingfawangshi
