2013 Domestic LED Patent Development Conjecture

As we all know, the technology patents of the global LED industry have been firmly held in the hands of Cree, Philips, Osram, Nichia Chemicals and Toyota Synthetics. In order to maintain their competitive advantage and maintain market share, these five major manufacturers applied for patents covering almost all of the entire industrial chain, including raw materials, equipment, packaging, and applications.

However, the flow of feng shui turns, and this kind of patent barrier is not unbreakable, but there are signs of loosening. According to the Patent Law, the period for the protection of invention patents is 20 years, and the period of protection for utility model patents and design patents is 10 years, which is the LED-related patents that have been filed since 1990, and has gradually matured since 2010, and this A significant portion of this also involves important white LEDs. In other words, in the next 2 to 3 years, there will be a batch of core patents in the 1990s that will expire one after another. In addition, related patents relating to phosphors will also gradually fail between 2012 and 2014.

Therefore, the development of LED packaging companies will usher in new opportunities, and it is expected to emerge on the non-fluorescent powder white LED lighting technology.

Barriers rise, buried in patents

In recent years, domestic LED companies have been applying for LED patents in an endless stream. However, if you look closely, you will find that most of the patents are not original. They either pick up human teeth and do some repairs based on the original patents of the international LED giants, or they are opportunistic. In the utility model or design circle, the patent "shanzhua" is quite high, the gold content will naturally be greatly reduced. Once there is a large-scale global lawsuit triggered by an international giant, there will be more than 70% of domestic patents invalidated.

At present, LED companies that export to overseas markets have frequently suffered patent encumbrances. At the same time, with the rapid development of the mainland LED lighting industry, the international lighting giants have taken advantage of core technologies to seize the Chinese market. Although China's LED industry has an advantage in terms of output and price, it is difficult to keep pace with international brands in terms of technology. At that time, the foreign brands will be under pressure and the patent will be self-reliant. The LED industry may repeat the mistakes of the photovoltaic industry. Some experts even predict that in the next 2-3 years, it is very likely that foreign giants will collectively sued local small and medium-sized lighting companies for patent infringement.

However, it is gratifying to note that some companies have begun to take precautions. For example, Zhen Mingli and Zhong Ming signed patent cooperation agreements with Philips in February and April 2012 respectively. In November, Crystal Power and Toshiba Japan mutually licensed AlGaInPLED technology patents. In addition, Taiwan Plant Masaru announced in December that it had authorized patent interaction with Toyota Synergy.

It can be predicted that with the intensification of market competition, patent disputes will become the norm. In order to prevent problems, companies may, under the premise of lack of ace-licensed patents, try to purchase some technology patents, or jointly funded by a number of companies to obtain licenses, and at the same time, strengthen patent strategy research through the establishment of patent alliances and boldly adopt them. The "patent pool" approach integrates many patentees' patents, cross-licensing, and mutual licensing, and ultimately responds to the "encirclement and suppression" of international LED giants in a way that embraces the group.

Segment market or current patent "new favorite"

It is true that the vast majority of LED core technologies are in the hands of only a handful of international companies. However, LED filaments do not have to be overrated. Looking at the history of LED development, LED applications can be described as innovative, from the initial mobile phone backlight, to the current lighting, from behind the scenes to the stage, and the future will be in the direction of artificial intelligence. Therefore, for the discovery of LED patents, whether it is innovative inventions, utility models, or design, there is a lot of room:

1) The silicon substrate patent is expected to make another great achievement: In 2012, the Chinese manufacturer Jingneng Optoelectronics introduced a luminous efficiency of more than 120lm/W silicon-based high-power LED chip products, so that we thoroughly elated. The industry believes that in the field of sapphire-based LEDs, Chinese LED companies have almost no core technology patents, and they have been passive. However, in terms of LED chips on the substrate, Chinese LED companies can stand on the same starting line with foreign manufacturers, and are expected to break through and create patents on silicon substrates to compete for market discourse rights.

2) Artificial intelligence LED or become a new favorite: Smart phones and tablet computers have become household names, and the combination of artificial intelligence control technology and LED applications has become a trend. Recently, Philips invented Huelights that can be controlled through Android and iOS technology programs. U.S. interior lighting company ByteLight has developed a positioning service based on LED lighting that enables the program to calculate the current position within one second with an accuracy of one meter. The LED lamp emits a blinking signal, which is then received and detected by the user's smart phone camera, and the user does not need to aim the camera at a specific direction, and can also receive the direct light source signal that is fed back. All of the above indications indicate that since smart mobile devices have become popular among consumers, the combination of LED lighting and mobile smart device technologies is bound to become popular in the near future. We can consider finding a cooperative connection point between mobile devices and LED technology to conduct technical research and patent exploitation to trigger a new round of LED technology storms.

All in all, a patent is a protracted war. It is necessary to specialize in technology and accumulate enough talent to be successful. In 2013, even if we cannot do the top three in the world, we must rely on positive energy to overthrow patented mountains, or independent research and development, independent innovation, or cross-licensing, and make a breakthrough. No matter what the way, in the spring of this kind of recovery, sow a belief. , I believe the spring season will not be far away from us.