Unified Patent Court Orders Recall of Products Infringing Essential Micro LED Patents

SEOUL, South Korea--Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ: 046890), a leading global innovator of LED products and technology, announced that the Local Division Paris of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), which has jurisdiction across 18 European countries, has issued a judgment that Laser Components SAS infringed Seoul Semiconductor affiliate’s core optical semiconductor patent.

The court ordered an immediate ban on sales, as well as the recall and destruction of infringing products.

This ruling is Seoul’s second victory at the UPC, following its October 2024 judgment prohibiting the sales of products infringing Seoul’s patents across eight countries — a first in the LED industry.

Laser Components is a global distributor offering electronic components across U.S., Europe, and Canada. This company was found to have sold products that infringed Seoul’s WICOP technology, No-wire and robust structure essential for Micro LED applications.

Seoul’s WICOP technology is the world’s first technology to overcome the structural limitations of conventional LED manufacturing. Unlike silicon semiconductors used in AI memory, LEDs are made with compound materials like gallium and indium, which require vertical alignment of positive and negative electrodes as well as wires to connect the electrodes. Seoul Semiconductor was the first to solve this problem by creating its “No-wire” technology, which connects electrodes directly without wires.

This innovation improves light emission efficiency and offers a strong, durable structure that resists heat and humidity, setting a new benchmark for optical semiconductors.

Today, WICOP technology is widely adopted across applications requiring miniaturization and high performance, including Micro LEDs, automotive headlamps, smartphone flashes, and backlight units. Its compact yet durable structure has also accelerated its use in advanced packaging products.

With an exclusive focus on optical semiconductors for over 30 years, Seoul has built an extensive portfolio of approximately 18,000 patents worldwide. According to Omdia’s 2023 report, Seoul Semiconductor ranks No. 1 globally in the UV LED and LCD backlight segments, and No. 3 overall in the LED industry.

Chung Hoon Lee, Seoul’s founder and CEO said, “There may be unfairness in birth, but opportunities should be fair in life.” He also added, “I believe that the patent system provides hope to young innovators and enterprises, fostering innovation and gradually making the world a better place.”

About Seoul Semiconductor

Seoul Semiconductor is the world’s third-largest global optoelectronics (LED) company, specializing in LED technology for over 30 years. With the vision of "Making the world clean, healthy, and beautiful through light," Seoul Semiconductor leads a new paradigm of light across various industries, including lighting, automotive, IT (such as backlighting), and its subsidiary, Seoul Viosys, which specializes in MicroLED, UV, Sensors, and Datacomm(SD).

Some of the groundbreaking technologies developed by Seoul Semiconductor include the world’s first innovative no-wire LED technology WICOP, the SunLike LED which replicates natural sunlight spectrum, the high-voltage LED Acrich, the ultra-bright nPola LED (10 times brighter than conventional LEDs), the RGB one-chip MicroLED WICOP Pixel, and UV sterilization technology Violeds.

Seoul Semiconductor holds an impressive portfolio of over 18,000 patents, and in the last 20 years, the company has won over 100 cases in patent litigation across 8 countries. Believing that the patent system provides hope for young people and serves as a foundation for building a better world, the company is actively engaged in intellectual property protection. For more details, visit our official website (www.seoulsemicon.com or www.seoulviosys.com) and our social media channels (LinkedIn).

Comparison of Structures: Conventional LED vs. 2^nd generation LED (Image: Seoul Semiconductor)

Contacts

Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
Jinseop Jung
jjs8732@seoulsemicon.com