- Hanwha Q Cells has accused Astronergy of infringing on its patented technology
- It has filed a lawsuit against Astronergy Solarmodule GmbH with the Düsseldorf Regional Court of Germany
- The South Korean manufacturer is expecting an appeal hearing in the patent infringement case filed against JinkoSolar, LONGi Solar and REC Solar in April 2021
Hanwha Q Cells of South Korea has initiated a patent infringement lawsuit against Astronergy Solarmodule GmbH, which is part of China based Chint Group, it announced in a statement.
However, the South Korean module maker has not shared details of the lawsuit against Astronergy, but said the case was filed with the Düsseldorf Regional Court on March 12, 2021.
“Technological innovation has always been the mainstay in the proud 20-year history of Q CELLS. Q CELLS believes that these lawsuits will protect our intellectual property rights and help create a healthy innovation landscape in the solar industry,” said Q Cells CTO Dr. Daniel Jeong.
This lawsuit follows Q Cells filing a similar case against JinkoSolar, LONGi Solar and REC Solar EMEA in Germany, Australia and the US back in March 2019 accusing them of infringing on its patented passivation technology for solar cells (see Hanwha Complains Of Patent Infringement).
It didn’t really get an edge in the case filed in the US, but the Regional Court of Dusseldorf in Germany ruled in favor of Hanwha Q Cells, to which JinkoSolar said it will appeal the decision (see Hanwha Scores In Germany In Patent Infringement Case). Hanwha said the appeal hearing is expected to take place in April 2021.
“In addition, the European Patent Office will decide on the opposition proceedings against EP 2 220 689 in the course of March 2021,” stated Hanwha Q Cells and added, “In addition, Q CELLS has also filed a separate patent infringement lawsuit in the Paris Supreme Court.”
