GE, Ikea, Home Depot defeat University of California bid for light bulb import bans
Reuters
Published May 16, 2023 03:42PM ET
By Blake Brittain
(Reuters) - A group of companies including General Electric (NYSE:GE) Co, Ikea Supply AG and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) on Tuesday defeated a request by the University of California for a U.S. appeals court to block imports of light bulbs that allegedly infringe its patents.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the U.S. International Trade Commission's decision that the companies' light bulbs did not include a key element of the university's patented technology.
An attorney for GE and co-defendant Savant Technologies LLC said the companies were pleased with the decision. Home Depot declined to comment. Representatives for Ikea and the university did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The university lodged the ITC complaint in 2020. It also filed related patent infringement lawsuits in federal court in 2019 against the companies and others including Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Target (NYSE:TGT).
Those cases have been paused for the ITC proceedings.
The school accused the companies of violating its patent rights in "filament" LED light bulbs, which use less energy and last longer than traditional light bulbs.
The commission entered a final decision against the university last year. The Federal Circuit agreed Tuesday that the companies' light bulbs did not infringe because they lacked a "molding" around the LED described in the university's patents.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.