Color Kinetics Awarded Costs and Attorney Fees in Super Vision Case
Scott McMahanMay 15, 2006...In what the presiding judge called an “exceptional” patent
litigation case, LED technology company, Color Kinetics of Boston, Massachusetts
USA, was awarded costs and attorney’s fees in its case against Super Vision.
Color Kinetics estimated the costs and attorney fees over the four years of litigation
totaled $1.4 million. (Ref: List
of Related Articles). According to the judge's ruling,
"I conclude without hesitation that this case is 'exceptional,' and that
Super Vision has perpetrated a 'gross injustice' by its egregious abuses of the
discovery phase and vexatious litigation strategy. An award of attorneys' fees
is appropriate to remedy the 'gross injustice' Color Kinetics has suffered at
the hands of Super Vision's vexatious and bad faith litigation."
Bill Sims, President and CEO of Color Kinetics said , "We are very
pleased with the Court's decision, as the order provides satisfying vindication
for Super Vision's behavior over the past four years." According to
the ruling, “Color Kinetics moves for attorneys' fees on the unusual
condition that it waive its claims as to damages and willful infringement.”
Color Kinetics said it will request that the court issue a permanent injunction
against infringement of the asserted patents. LIGHTimes SecondPage members can access the extended version of the article.
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Bookham Division To Showcase Electro-Optic Products at CLEO 2006May 15, 2006...A division of optoelectronics company Bookham, New Focus is expanding its offering
of what it calls its Simply Better photonics solution including a range of new
laser and electro-optic products to be launched at CLEO 2006. New Focus is featured
a new line of electro-optic modulators that incorporate a patent-pending design
to achieve twice the efficiency over traditional modulators. The modulators
come in new KTP versions which the company says offer five times the optical
damage thresholds of lithium niobate modulators.
The other products to be on display include:Avalanche photodiode (APD) receivers,
stable wave and velocity tunable lasers, and picomotor actuators. The Avalanche
Photodiode (APD) receivers are new high-speed photoreceivers designed for ultralow-light-level
detection applications. The StableWave and Velocity Tunable Lasers reportedly
have more than double the selection of StableWave tunable lasers, new models
of the New Focus Velocity tunable lasers and new low-noise Velocity laser controllers.
New Focus is also showcasing their tiny picomotor actuators that are designed
specifically for remote-actuation applications. Company
News Release May 15, 2006...Crystal IS of Washington D.C. has announced the release of 2-inch native aluminum
nitride (AlN) wafers at the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association
(OIDA) Nitride LED and Laser Technology Forum in Palo Alto, California USA,
May 11th. The company says the technology is especially suited for ultraviolet
(UV) solid state lighting and lasers and next generation RF power transistors.
According to the company, the primary applications for the substrates include:
architectural lighting, backlighting, automobiles, and emerging applications
in medicine, projectors, biosensors, and general pupose lighting. The company said that the optoelectronics and solid state lighting industry
experts at the OIDA Forum discussed the current market from nitride-based optoelectronic
components such as: high brightness (HB) LEDs and solid state ultra violet (UV)
sources. Additionally, the forum reportedly covered the technical benefits of
various crystal growth and substrate technologies, the future of high efficiency
UV and green LEDs and lasers, packaging, thermal effects for nitride based LED
laser sources, the lack of standards in these areas, and issues surrounding
the intellectual property of the technology. Company
News Release
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SatCon Announces 2.3 Megawatts of Total Inverter Purchase Orders; Losses Narrow for Quarter
CompoundSemi News StaffMay 11, 2006...SatCon, a power electronics company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts
USA, has reportedly received multiple purchase orders from four new customers
for 13 commercial grade inverters. The total output of the inverters in the
orders comes to 2.3 megawatts (MW). The company said the total includes an order
from one of the largest photovoltaic integrators in North America. Another customers
was operating a trial unit, decided to purchase a follow-on order for three
commercial grade inverters. David Eisenhaure, SatCon’s Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer said that he expects the percentage of the company’s
annual revenues coming from photovoltaic inverters to double this year to 20
percent. Company
News Release
In other company news, the company reported a 15.5 percent lower net loss for
the quarter for the second quarter of fiscal 2006 compared with same quarter
a year ago. “I am pleased with the progress we are making towards transitioning
into a products-oriented business,” commented David Eisenhaure, chairman
and CEO. “I am also encouraged by the market reception
for our alternative energy products. Our commercial grade solar inverters continue
to gain market traction and represent approximately 15 percent of our total
corporate revenues for the year-to-date, compared with 10 percent in the prior
year.” Company
Earnings Release Osram Claims Laser Bar Breakthrough
CompoundSemi News StaffMay 11, 2006...Osram Opto Semiconductors reported that that a collaboration with laser specialists
Dilas Diodenlaser GmbH achieved a laser bar performance breakthrough. Osram claimed
that its laser bars have set a new world record of 808 nanometers (nm) with an
optical output of 120 watts (W). The collaboration is part of the Brilliant High-Power
Laser Diodes for Industrial Applications (BRILASI) research project. The BRILASI
project was initiated by the Association of German Engineers, an agency of the
German Ministry for Education and Research, to develop highly efficient and reliable
diode lasers for industrial applications. Osram Opto Semiconductors serves as
the project's coordinator. Additional members of the project team include laser
system specialists and representatives from research institutes.
According to Osram the high-performance laser bars prototypes are for a new
generation of diode lasers which are designed primarily to pump solid-state
lasers in applications such as automobile industry welding. Osram touts the
laser bars increased system output with the same service life or smaller, more
reliable systems with the same output. The company says that diode lasers can
now perform the applications previously reserved exclusively for solid-state
lasers such as surface processing. "With output of 120 W, these new
lasers will double the value achieved for current 808 nm wavelength solutions,"
said Ellen Sizemore, North American director, LED and IR Products Group, Osram
Opto Semiconductors. "This ten-percent efficiency increase is a direct
result of the combined efforts of Osram's expertise in chip fabrication and
Dilas' skills in assembly and cooling systems." Company
News Release Cree Signs Supply Agreement With Seoul Semiconductor; Enters Patent Cross-Licensing Agreement
Scott McMahanMay 9, 2006...Cree Inc. of Durham, North Carolina USA, announced that it has signed a five
year supply agreement and has entered into a patent cross-licensing agreement
with Seoul Semiconductor. The patent cross-licensing agreement gives Seoul Semiconductor,
a Korean-based company headquartered in Seoul, the right to use Cree’s
white LED patent (US patent # 6,600,175).
During the first five quarters of the agreement, Seoul Semiconductor has committed
to purchase a minimum of $40 million of Cree LED products. According to Cree,
commitments for subsequent periods will be negotiated annually. The agreement
extends through June 2011. Cree says that an extension of up to five years is
possible if certain sales conditions are met. Content continues for LIGHTimes SecondPage members... Emcore Posts Strong Earnings in All Business SegmentsMay 9, 2006...Emcore reported that revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2006 which ended
March 31, were $41.2 million. This is an increase of 35 percent from the $30.4
million reported in the second quarter of fiscal 2005 and an increase of $1.3
million, or 3%, from the $39.9 million in the previous quarter. According to
the company, all three of its operating segments, Fiber Optics, Photovoltaics
and Electronic Materials and Devices, posted revenue increases year over year.
Sequentially, Fiber Optics and Electronic Materials and Devices showed a slight
revenue increase, while Photovoltaics experienced a marginal revenue decrease
of 4 percent. During the quarter the company received the final earn-out payment
from the sale of the equipment division to Veeco Instruments in 2003. Emcore
also completed the acquisition of K2 Optronics, an optical communication and
laser company, during the quarter. (Ref: Coverage).
Mr. Reuben F. Richards Jr., President & CEO commented, “On the
terrestrial solar front, we are excited about our prospects. We have bids out
on approximately 40 megawatts of installations with contracts to be awarded
in 2006 for installations beginning in 2007. Meanwhile, we are presently working
with other customers and have made initial shipments of terrestrial based solar
cells to 5 solar concentrator companies, including the 2 major system manufacturers
in Europe and Asia.” Quarterly
Earnings Report Sensors Unlimited, Goodrich Corp. Introduces New Shortwave Infrared CameraMay 8, 2006...Sensors Unlimited, Goodrich Corp., a maker of shortwave infrared components,
cameras, and systems utilizing indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) technology,
has introduced a new shortwave infrared (SWIR) windows snapshot camera. The
SU640DWH-1 high resolution camera reportedly comes with proprietary image ananlysis
software. According to the company, the camera is ideal for near-infrared imaging
applications such as image capture of fast-moving objects, SWIR motion analysis,
and thermal imaging of combustion or rocket plumes. The camera can also be used
for machine vision, pulsed laser beam profiling and other applications where
advanced windowing test and functionality is required. Company
News Release Filtronic plc In Talks to Sell Wireless Infrastructure BusinessesMay 8, 2006...Filtronic plc of London reported Friday that it is in talks to sell its wireless
infrastructure businesses to US group, Powerwave Technologies Inc. Specifically
the exclusive talks are to sell the transmit and receive module and power amplifier
businesses to the US company, according to an article
by Reuters news service. The company however indicated that the sale
was still uncertain. In January company CEO, John Roulston quit. A company spokesman
told Reuters that Filtronic had not yet found a new CEO. Sales of the company
stock which had gone down 25 percent since January, reportedly rose 15 percent
as of London’s market close on Friday. Our news features are reported
by the CompoundSemi News staff writers.
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