The growing list of solar PV patent infringement disputes has expanded with the addition of a new lawsuit that Chinese PV manufacturer JinkoSolar Holding has filed against VSUN Solar USA, Toyo Co. Ltd. and their affiliates in the US and abroad.
It has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco) against the 2 companies for infringing on the company’s proprietary technology, without specifying any more details. It added though that JinkoSolar has been awarded more than 2,800 issued patents with a proprietary portfolio comprising 462 industry-leading patents related to n-type TOPCon technology.
However, JinkoSolar’s official complaint shared by patent specialist ipfray.com on its website shows that the Chinese manufacturer’s lawsuit accuses the 2 companies of infringing on its n-type TOPCon US Patent No. 11,581,454 and US Patent No. 11,824,136. It is seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction preventing VSUN from any further infringement. It also wants damages and a trial by jury.
“JinkoSolar has earned its leadership position in the global solar module market through significant R&D investments and will vigorously defend its intellectual property against those who sell infringing products,” said Louise Lu, a patent litigation lawyer with Perkins Coie LLP.
VSUN is a vertically integrated solar PV manufacturer from Japan. TOYO Solar is another Japanese PV manufacturer that was looking for a module factory location in the US in collaboration with its affiliate VSUN. In November 2024, TOYO picked Texas to locate its 2.5 GW solar module production plant which will be scaled up to 6.5 GW by 2029.
TOPCon, the industry’s new workhorse, has become a bone of contention for PV manufacturers most of whom claim to have patents on the technology. Some of the notable names that have slapped TOPCon patent lawsuits against other manufacturers include Maxeon Solar Technologies, First Solar, JA Solar, and Trinasolar.
Trinasolar successfully appealed to the USITC to stop the import and sale of Runergy and Adani products for infringing on its patents in October 2024 as the latter agreed to institute an investigation into the matter.
Recently, JinkoSolar’s Product Manager Leo Cong spoke about the company’s TOPCon technology and the future product outlook on day 1 of the TaiyangNews annual flagship conference High Efficiency Solar Technologies 2024 on December 2, 2024.
Speaking of TOPCon, day 3 of the TaiyangNews conference on December 10, 2024 will continue the discussion on TOPCon as part II, registrations for which are open for free here.
（Picture: Veer）
