Canadian Solar says that the US Federal District Court has dismissed Maxeon Solar’s TOPCon patent lawsuit without prejudice
The Federal Circuit has also vacated the relevant part of a PTAB decision involving Maxeon’s remaining claim
The outcome follows Canadian Solar’s recent patent dispute win involving Trinasolar
Canadian Solar says the Federal District Court in the US has dismissed Maxeon Solar’s TOPCon patent infringement lawsuit against the company ‘without prejudice’, thus resolving the dispute in its favor.
Additionally, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated the relevant portion of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision relating to Maxeon’s remaining claim, according to the Canada-headquartered solar PV manufacturer.
Maxeon Solar launched a patent lawsuit against Canadian Solar in March 2024, alleging that the latter infringed its TOPCon solar cell technology-related patents. In January 2026, PTAB ruled in Canadian Solar’s favor in its Final Written Decisions, dismissing all Maxeon claims (see Canadian Solar Wins PTAB Ruling Against Maxeon Patent Claims).
Canadian Solar says the dismissal of the lawsuit provides important clarity and reinforces its non-infringement claims.
“We are very pleased with the resolution of these proceedings, which affirms Canadian Solar's continued ability to compete through technology and manufacturing leadership,” said Canadian Solar CEO Colin Parkin. “We respect intellectual property rights and will continue to defend our technology, support our customers, and bring leading innovations to market.”
This is another win for the North American manufacturer following PTAB canceling Trinasolar’s TOPCon patent claims against the company in April 2026. Trinasolar is, however, pursuing an RMB 1 billion damages claim against Canadian Solar in China (see USPTO Invalidates Trinasolar Claims Against Canadian Solar).
Maxeon had previously filed a patent lawsuit against Canadian Solar for shingled solar cell modules in Japan. Back then, Canadian Solar agreed to discontinue selling its shingled cell modules in Japan till Q2 2025 (see Maxeon Solar & Canadian Solar Reach Settlement).
Earlier this year, Maxeon reached a settlement with AIKO for all ongoing and potential patent disputes regarding all back contact cell and module patents, agreeing instead to a licensing-based arrangement (see Maxeon & AIKO End BC Solar Patent Disputes Through Licensing Deal).
TOPCon has been a subject of continued patent-related lawsuits, across major markets, including the US and China. First Solar has filed patent lawsuits related to this technology against several leading names in the solar PV industry, prompting the USITC to open a Section 337 probe into TOPCon solar imports in March this year (see First Solar Complaint Prompts USITC Section 337 Probe).
Alarmed at the increasing number of IP disputes related to the current industry workhorse TOPCon, China has launched a patent pool for this technology. It covers 54 patents related to TOPCon solar PV cells and modules within mainland China, and is designed to improve access to this technology and avoid a ‘patent jungle’. It may later be expanded to include other technologies such as back contact and heterojunction (see China Launches Solar PV Patent Pool, Starting With TOPCon).
