SolarEdge Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Huawei & German Distributor WATTKRAFT
Israel-based solar PV inverter manufacturer SolarEdge has this week filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Germany against Chinese IT company Huawei, its German subsidiary, and the German distributor for Huawei WATTKRAFT Solar.
SolarEdge announced on Monday that it had filed a lawsuit for patent infringement in the Regional Court of Mannheim in Germany, a court it describes as “one of the most pre-eminent German patent courts,” against China-based Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., the company’s German subsidiary Huawei Technologies Düsseldorf GmbH, and Huawei’s German distributor WATTKRAFT Solar GmbH. The lawsuit asserts that Huawei made unauthorized use of patented SolarEdge technology and was filed in an attempt “to protect SolarEdge’s significant investment in its innovative DC optimized inverter technology” and “to prevent the defendants from selling any multi-level inverters infringing upon SolarEdge’s PV inverter technology protected in the asserted patent in Germany.”
SolarEdge is seeking monetary damages, as well as an injunction and recall of all infringing Huawei inverters from the German market. Specifically, according to a spokesperson from SolarEdge, the technology in question is the company’s patented multi-level inverter topology (found here).
“The success of the entire PV industry has been and continues to be driven by innovative technology that makes PV energy more affordable and ubiquitous,” claimed Guy Sella, CEO, Chairman, and Founder of SolarEdge. “Such innovation requires significant financial investment and years of dedication and hard work from skilled R&D engineers. The PV industry cannot sustain such efforts under the constant threat of, in our view, illegal use of proprietary technology and we will not remain silent as our intellectual property is exploited.”
“SolarEdge’s patents and other intellectual property are the result of our relentless pursuit of innovation and commitment towards worldwide PV proliferation,” Sella added. “In order to protect our intellectual property, we are taking legal action against Huawei and its distributor.”
SolarEdge boasts 126 awarded patents and 169 patent applications around the world, as well as other extensive intellectual property across a range of smart energy technologies.
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