Maxeon and AIKO have mutually agreed to settle all ongoing and potential patent disputes and shift to a licensing-based arrangement
AIKO will receive a license to Maxeon’s back contact solar cell and module patents outside the US, including existing patents and those added over the next 5 years
Maxeon will withdraw all pending and potential patent enforcement actions against AIKO, while AIKO will drop all patent invalidation efforts against Maxeon
Back contact (BC) solar PV technology companies Maxeon Solar Technologies and AIKO have mutually agreed to end their patent disputes, opting instead for licensing.
Under this agreement, AIKO will obtain a license to Maxeon’s BC solar cell and module patents outside of the US. This includes all of the latter’s existing patents as well as those to be newly added over the next 5 years.
Maxeon has agreed to fully withdraw and terminate all ‘pending and potential’ patent enforcement actions against AIKO, while the latter has agreed to withdraw and terminate all invalidation efforts against the former’s patents.
Without sharing any further details, the duo announced in a joint statement, “The successful conclusion of this patent licensing agreement demonstrates both parties' respect for the value of intellectual property, strengthening intellectual property protection, and promoting technological advancement in the solar industry.”
AIKO says it will leverage industrial collaboration within the BC technology ecosystem and patent licensing models to transform from a product manufacturer to a definer of technological value.
“Combined with Maxeon Solar’s long-standing technological accumulation and patent portfolio in BC technology, this agreement enables the formation of a comprehensive and robust patent moat in BC technology,” said AIKO. “This not only provides strong certainty for large-scale global market deployment, but also opens broader innovation space for the continuous advancement of BC technology.”
Earlier, Maxeon had launched a patent infringement lawsuit, involving its European Patent No. EP2297788B1, against AIKO in November 2023 in Germany (see SunPower Spin-Off Launches Another Patent Lawsuit).
It followed up with a preliminary injunction against AIKO and its wholesalers in the Netherlands, which was rejected by the court. In May 2025, the Hague Court of Appeal deemed Maxeon’s appeal against AIKO and VDH Solar inadmissible, following which Maxeon withdrew its appeal in the Netherlands (see Hague Court Rules Against Maxeon in Solar Patent Appeal).
In December 2025, Maxeon filed a fresh patent infringement lawsuit against AIKO in Germany. It accused AIKO and its European distribution network of infringing its core BC solar technology patent EP2297789B1, specifically addressing AIKO’s Gen 2 and Gen 3 BC solar module products being sold in Europe.
Now the 2 companies have resolved the matter, in line with the recent global trend of solar PV manufacturers preferring to settle matters mutually rather than pursue long-drawn and expensive lawsuits. Maxeon had earlier reached a cross-licensing agreement with Tongwei (see Tongwei & Maxeon Reach Agreement In Solar Patent Dispute).
LONGi and JinkoSolar, and Astronergy and JA Solar also followed suit (see Astronergy & JA Solar End Global TOPCon Patent Dispute).
Earlier this year, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the USPTO dismissed all of Maxeon’s TOPCon patent infringement claims against Canadian Solar (see Canadian Solar Wins PTAB Ruling Against Maxeon Patent Claims).
Maxeon now says the USPTO has upheld one of its patents in its entirety while finding certain claims in 2 Maxeon patents unpatentable.
“Maxeon believes it has credible legal grounds to seek reversal of the unfavorable portions of the USPTO decision and will continue to vigorously defend its intellectual property,” stated the Singapore-headquartered manufacturer.
