Court Orders Search and Seizure of Products From Suspected Infringers of Seoul Viosys� Patents in Europe

ANSAN, South Korea–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AirConditionersUVLEDSterilization—Seoul Viosys Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ: 092190), an affiliate of Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc. (�SETi”) and a subsidiary of Seoul Semiconductor, announced that, in September 2021, the Judicial Court of Paris, France ordered a search and seizure against a multi-national electric retailer and its suppliers for distributing UV LED sterilizers suspected of infringing Seoul Viosys’ patents. Seoul Viosys had filed a patent infringement complaint with the French court. Under the French court’s order, bailiffs seized products from the business offices of those companies located in Paris and Lille to secure evidence of suspected infringement.

Seoul Viosys and its affiliates are leading developers of 2^nd Generation Technologies. And they have successfully obtained permanent injunctions and orders of recall against products infringing their patented technologies.

For example, SSI (currently, Mediana Electronics) was the subject of a search and seizure for supplying Korea’s largest companies with white LED chips, infringing Seoul Semiconductor’s technology in order to generate hundreds of billions of Korean won in sales revenues. SSI’s employees were arrested for stealing Seoul’s technology.

Recently, Seoul Viosys and its strategic partners also obtained a series of permanent injunctions or judgments for patent infringement in the U.S. and Europe against various UV LED manufacturers, such as RayVio, Everlight, Bolb, Epileds, and LED Engin. They still continue to pursue additional enforcements against some of those manufacturers.

Seoul Viosys has been collaborating for over 20 years with SETi, a pioneer in UV LED technology. Together, Seoul Viosys and SETi co-developed Violeds technology that can effectively disinfect water, air space, and surfaces, including the elimination of 99.437% of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in less than one second based upon testing from a respected research institute. Seoul Viosys expects the probability of infection to be reduced to 3% in an indoor environment when using Violeds. Violeds technology also has applications in deodorization and 3D printing. Based on its technology innovation, Seoul Viosys supplies leading LED solutions for refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and water purifiers to the top three global companies in Korea, the US, and China.

“Although reputable companies claim to follow corporate ethics and ESG, which means Environment, Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance, many of them still knowingly use the products that steal the technology of others,” said the founder of Seoul Viosys, Chung Hoon Lee. “Such immoral actions break the hopes of small companies and young innovators.”

[Note] List of News regarding SSI in 2004

Advanced semiconductor technology leaked to a competitor (SBS)

2 arrested for leaking semiconductor patent technology (YTN)

An executive arrested for leaking technology to a competitor (YTN)

Industrial espionage on the rise (Korea Economic Daily)

Semiconductor technology leakage “damage worth 100 billion won” (Dong-A Ilbo)

100 billion won worth of semiconductor technology leak (Seoul economy)

2 arrested including Japanese for “high-tech leak” (Maeil Business News)

Japanese working at a domestic company leaks patented semiconductor technology to a competitor (Newsis)

2 arrested including Japanese for “high-tech leak” (Yonhap News)

Technology leak dispute between SSI and Seoul Semiconductor (Money Today)

About Seoul Viosys

Seoul Viosys is a full-line solution provider for UV LED, VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser), the next-generation light source for 3D sensor and laser, and a single-pixel RGB “Micro Clean Pixel” for displays. Established in 2002 as a subsidiary of Seoul Semiconductor, it captured the No. 1 market share in the UV LED industry (LEDinside, 2020). Seoul Viosys has an extensive UV LED portfolio with all wavelengths range (200nm to 1600nm) including ultraviolet rays (UV), visible rays and infrared rays. It holds more than 4,000 patents related to UV LED technology. Violeds, its flagship UV LED technology, provides a wide range of industries with optimal solutions for strong sterilization and disinfection (UVC), skin regeneration (UVB), water/air purification and effective cultivation for horticulture. In 2018, Seoul Viosys acquired RayCan, a leading optoelectronic specialist, to add the advanced VCSEL technology which supports smartphone facial recognition and autonomous driving, and has started its mass production. In January 2020, it introduced a disruptive “Micro Clean Pixel” that has the potential to be a game-changer in the display market. To learn more, visit http://www.seoulviosys.com/en/.

Contacts

Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
Jinseop Jeong

+82-70-4391-8555

jjs8732@seoulsemicon.com