Astronergy and JA Solar have agreed to terminate all global legal actions and cross-license their TOPCon patent portfolios
The settlement aims to create a healthier innovation environment and reduce costly, disruptive TOPCon-related patent conflicts
Deal aligns with similar recent industry settlements as manufacturers seek cooperation to avoid future litigation risks
The global patent disputes between Chinese solar PV manufacturers Chint New Energy Technology (Astronergy) and JA Solar Technology are now settled as both companies have reached an out-of-court settlement.
The duo announced that both manufacturers, as well as their affiliates, have agreed to terminate all ongoing legal proceedings relating to patent disputes globally.
They have also reached an agreement on cross-licensing of TOPCon-related patents owned by each side.
Furthermore, both Astronergy and JA have agreed not to initiate any litigation or other proceedings against the other in any jurisdiction worldwide in relation to TOPCon-related patents for the term of the agreement.
“We believe this outcome will help foster a healthier and more orderly innovation environment across the industry, encourage fair and dynamic competition, and contribute to building a well-regulated and sustainable intellectual property landscape,” stated the duo in a joint statement.
Their settlement follows JA Solar filing solar cell patent lawsuits against CHINT New Energy and its subsidiary Astronergy Europe regarding TOPCon (EP2787541 B1) and the arrangement of electrodes on solar cells and connecting these in the panel (EP 4092759 B1), valid till 2034 and 2035, respectively. It filed the lawsuits in the Unified Patent Court for member states of the European Union (see TOPCon Patent Ownership War Heating Up, Now Moving To China).
“The successful conclusion of this settlement reflects the Two Sides’ commitment to integrity, innovation, mutual benefit, and pragmatic cooperation. It sets a positive example for establishing a healthy and sustainable intellectual property cooperation model within the industry,” reads their joint statement.
This settlement between Astronergy and JA follows similar out-of-court settlements and cross-licensing agreements reached by Tongwei and Maxeon Solar Technologies, and LONGi and JinkoSolar earlier this year (see LONGi & JinkoSolar Settle Global Patent Conflicts).
Patent lawsuits are not new in the solar PV industry. In recent times, they have especially cropped up with the rise of TOPCon as the mainstream technology.
However, TOPCon patent lawsuits are not just expensive to follow through, but also lead to market disruption, impact a company’s financials, and restrict R&D efforts in the industry (see Rising IP Disputes Complicate TOPCon Expansion).
Several manufacturers in the US are wary of investing in TOPCon as they wish to steer clear of any patent lawsuits, instead sticking to PERC, which is on its way out from other global markets (see US Solar PV Manufacturing Confronts Supply Chain And Policy Risks).
What this situation is also leading to are patent licenses and collaborations as companies want to avoid any litigations in the future (see HoloSolis Secures Trinasolar’s TOPCon Patent License For French Factory).
Meanwhile, Chinese media recently reported JinkoSolar having sued SEG Solar and several of its subsidiaries for infringing on its n-type TOPCon patents. The lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas pertains to JinkoSolar’s US Patent no. 11824136.