Seoul Semiconductor celebrates patent victory!

Nichia had filed a patent infringement suit against Seoul Semiconductor in October 2007 and SemiLEDs (Idaho US). In return, Seoul asked the Korea Intellectual Property Tribunal to investigate the validity of the Nichia’s patent (patent “482″). after an exhustive examination, the KIPT determined that Nichia’s patent “482″ lacked inventiveness and was ruled invalid giving cause for Seoul and SemiLEDs something to cheer about. Incendentilly, the Seoul’s Z-power LED P9 series (the LEDs in question according to Nichias original filing) contained Mvp LED chips from SemiLEDs. This is the second patent infringement case filed by Nichia against Seoul to be dismissed and the Nichia patent ultimately invalidated in the last few months, hurting Nichia and bolstering Seoul’s confidence, if not their market position.

Following the decision from the KIPT, a unnamed Seoul official commented that “following another invalidation of Nichia’s patents, which were asserted against Seoul, Seoul is in a stronger position and feels confident that we will prevail in all the patent infringement lawsuits pending against Nichia.” Ouch!

Seoul’s spokesperson continued that “as a company which respects patent rights, we will continue to sincerely evaluate the valid scope of all patents relating to our products, and where necessary will not hesitate to verify the facts in patent disputes.”

Nichia had no comment.

Technorati Tags: leds , solid-state lighting, lighting industry news, lighting industry market, lighting market , solid-state lighting market, lighting market analysis, global led market, global led news, global lighting industry, global lighting fixtures, global lighting, led technology, leds in the news, Nichia, Seoul Semiconductor, SemiLEDs, Seoul Semi, white leds, visible leds, patent infringement, patent lawsuit, cross-licensing agreement, cross licensing, led patents, led patent flowchart, led patent flow chart, led patent lawsuits, led technology, led technology licensing

Did Cree, Inc.’s Acquisition of Cotco Hurt Their Growth?

Just when you thought it was safe to jump into LED technology investing  waters…<insert theme from Jaws here>…

Cree shares fall on analyst downgrade

Oohh…..and Cree was doing so well too. All their recent R&D breakthroughs and GE buyout rumors making the press, pushing up their shares and all. Well, their shares were bound to drop but I am a bit surprised that Mr. Jed Dorsheimer downgraded their shares, dropping them 11.5%. Furthermore, I don’t agree with his reasoning that Cree’s Cotco acquisition was ill-timed and will hamper their growth.

So according to the analyst in the article, Cree’s attempt to offer individualized technology solutions to it’s customer base through Cotco hurt their market position and the better approach was to leave Cotco out on the table and remain a one-size-fits all LED manufacturer?

I don’t think so but I’m not by any means a financial analyst. Here’s what I feel Cotco adds to Cree.

Cotco gives Cree a much-needed low-cost manufacturing platform in Asia. Combine that with Cotco’s expertise in high-brightness LED die manufacture and you have the perfect shot-in-the-arm for Cree’s XLamp series which, as the analyst said, is key to Cree’s ability to grow in the upcoming quarters. Over the coming year, I think, Cree will dramatically expand their XLamp output and offerings to take advantage of this. The Cotco acquisition also gives Cree an in-road into the infant-stage adoption of LED lighting in China which is just now developing a national lighting infrastructure. It not only gives Cree a significant local manufacturing capability but also adds local sales capabilities as well. I feel there is tremendous potential for growth in the Chinese market as the high population levels dictate a need for energy efficient technologies such as high-power LED lighting.

Well, time will tell if the Cotco acquisition was the smart move. I think it was. Let me know what you think.

Powered by ScribeFire.

GE To Buy Cree?!?!?

Cree shares rise on GE buyout rumors

Apparently, an unsubstantiated story ran on Bloomberg News that said that General Electric could buyout Cree, Inc. Evidentially, this rumor has come up before and honestly, with the jump of Cree, Inc stock by nearly 10% on the news, it wouldn’t surprise me to find out Cree starts that rumor themselves every now and then to boost value. Did I say that?!?!? Who was that masked man reading the Wall Street Journal?

Technorati Tags: leds , solid-state lighting , lighting industry news , lighting industry market , lighting market , solid-state lighting market , lighting market analysis , global led market , global led news , asian lighting market , global lighting industry , global lighting fixtures , global lighting , led technology , leds in the news , global industry analysts report , cree inc, cree leds, cree modules, cree buyout, ge buys cree, ge to buy cree, general electric, cree stocks jump

Powered by ScribeFire.

Cree, Inc. Revenue Drops for Fiscal 2007

Cree’s Many Accomplishments Belie its Financial Results for Fiscal 2007

August 8, 2007…Compound semiconductor and solid state lighting innovator, Cree Inc. of Durham, North Carolina USA, reported its financial results for fiscal 2007. The yearly revenue for fiscal 2007 decreased 7 percent compared to the revenue for fiscal 2006 dropping from $423 million for fiscal 2006 to $394.1 million for fiscal 2007. The GAAP net income for fiscal 2007, $57.3 million was also down compared to $76.7 million during fiscal 2006.

During the fiscal year the company completed the acquisition of Cotco, a supplier of high brightness packaged LEDs based in China. The company made available XLamp LEDs with a minimum luminous flux of 100 lumens at 350 mA. Additionally, both the city of Raleigh, North Carolina USA, and Toronto Canada became the first and second cities to join the company’s “LED City” program.

“Fiscal 2007 was a challenging but successful year for Cree as we made great strides in our transformation from an LED chip and SiC materials technology company into a components company positioned to lead the LED lighting revolution,” stated Chuck Swoboda, Cree chairman and CEO. “…We believe the combination of growing XLamp® LED sales, our new high-brightness, packaged LED product line and a more stable LED chip business has put Cree in a strong position for growth in fiscal 2008.” Company Financial Results for Fiscal 2007

Article courtesy of the LIGHTimes

I somehow get the feeling that Cree doesn’t have to worry too much. Cree is one of, if not THE industry leader and is certainly one of the LED technology companies to beat. Currently, they are in the driver’s seat in the industry. They are the leading sponsor of theSolid-State Lighting ASSIST research program at the Lighting Research Center at RPI (see article below), they are driving the LED city program, they are pushing on Lumileds in the high-power LED module market and with their acquisition of Cotco, now have a 100 lumen, 350 mA LED. Thats hot!

Technorati Tags: leds , solid-state lighting , lighting industry news , lighting industry market , lighting market , solid-state lighting market , lighting market analysis , global led market , global led news , asian lighting market , global lighting industry , global lighting fixtures , global lighting , led technology , leds in the news , global industry analysts report , cree inc, cree leds, cree modules

Cambridge Display Technologies to be acquired

Sumitomo Chemical to Acquire USA OLED Display Company, Cambridge Display Technologies

August 2, 2007…Sumitomo Chemical reported that it will acquire Cambridge Display Technologies, a U.S. firm that develops materials for organic LEDs (light-emitting diodes), for about 285 million dollars, or roughly 34 billion yen, according to an article on Nikkei Net. The acquisition requires the approval of CDT stockholders at CDT’s shareholders’ meeting this fall. Under the terms of the agreement, Sumitomo Chemical will buy all outstanding CDT shares for 12 dollars each. This is more than double the stock’s average price over the past 90 days. CDT shareholders hold a combined stake of 43 percent and are the largest stockholders in the company. CDT is reportedly a dominant company in the development of technology for organic electroluminescence displays.

Article courtesy of: LIGHTimes

Technorati Tags: leds, solid-state lighting, lighting industry news, lighting industry market, lighting market, solid-state lighting market, lighting market analysis, global led market, global led news, asian lighting market, global lighting industry, global lighting fixtures, global lighting, led technology, leds in the news, global industry analysts report

Philips cornering the market in specialist solid-state lighting?

Philips acquires SSL specialist TIR Systems
This is a bit old, and out of order but I missed it before so here it is now. Looks like Philips is making a gigantic move in the LED industry. First TIR systems and then Color Kinetics. What next

Technorati Tags: leds, solid-state lighting, lighting industry news, lighting industry market, lighting market, solid-state lighting market, lighting market analysis, global led market, global led news, asian lighting market, global lighting industry, global lighting fixtures, global lighting, led technology, leds in the news, global industry analysts report

Powered by ScribeFire.

Global Lighting Industry Market Report

Lighting fixtures market to exceed $94 billion by 2010
Very interesting report. Nothing anyone functioning within the industry
didn’t already know but I was a bit surprised by the fact that Europe
is the largest market for global lighting fixtures as opposed to Asia
which is the largest producer with China leading the way. Especially
where the expected growth in the market is to come from end use
construction and industrialization segments and typically countries in
Asia are leading consumers in those segments. Apparently, export at all
costs is the key phrase of the day. But then again, I’m not a market
analyst either.

Technorati Tags: leds, solid-state lighting, lighting industry news, lighting industry market, lighting market, solid-state lighting market, lighting market analysis, global led market, global led news, asian lighting market, global lighting industry, global lighting fixtures, global lighting, led technology, leds in the news, global industry analysts report

Powered by ScribeFire.

Analysts out of the dark on LED stocks

LED Stocks Get Some Respect | Alternative Energy Stocks
As Cree, Inc. a major innovator in LED technology, moves up the corporate food-chain it’s climb has caught the attention of many including the financial world where speculation that LEDs fight with compact fluorescents seems poised to fall into the victory column will kick up a frenzy of trading.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Massachusetts based LED company is bought by Philips.

Color Kinetics Announces Acquisition By Philips
“This acquisition uniquely positions Philips as a major player in the
fast-growing solid-state lighting business with technology, expertise
and intellectual property in all parts of the value chain of integrated
LED-based lighting solutions”

Powered by ScribeFire.