First Solar has filed a lawsuit in U.S. district court against JA Solar, together with American Panel Solutions, alleging infringement of First Solar’s U.S. Patent No. 9,130,074. The ‘074 patent covers methods of manufacturing TOPCon silicon solar cells.
“We have been clear that we will actively defend our intellectual property rights in the U.S. and internationally,” said Jason Dymbort, EVP, general counsel and secretary for First Solar. “This lawsuit is an effort to hold JA Solar and American Panel Solutions accountable for their unauthorized use of First Solar’s patented technology and reinforces the need for TOPCon manufacturers operating in the United States to respect the well-defined framework of intellectual property law.”
Thin-film panel manufacturer First Solar obtained the TOPCon silicon patent through its 2013 acquisition of TetraSun. First Solar is licensing the TOPCon technology to Houston-based cell startup Talon PV and has been moving to protect its technology in U.S. courts. It is also pursuing TOPCon patent lawsuits against Canadian Solar, Jinko Solar, T1 Energy and Trina Solar.
JA Solar set up a U.S. panel assembly facility in Phoenix, under the name American Panel Solutions, which is now under Corning ownership.
First Solar requested a Sec. 337 violation investigation with the International Trade Commission earlier this year against American Panel Solutions (JA/Corning), Axitec, Canadian Solar, Jinko Solar, Mundra (Adani), Philadelphia Solar, Qcells, Runergy, Trina Solar (including T1 Energy) and VSUN (Toyo). A Sec. 337 of the Tariff Act violation declares that the infringement of certain patents leads to unfair competition in import trade. First Solar voluntarily terminated the investigation last month and said it would instead pursue patent infringement lawsuits.
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