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LED S

Technology and applications

of light emitting diodes

MAGAZINE

Issue 1

April 2005

Editor: Tim Whitaker editor@leds.iop.org

Tel. +44 (0)117 930 1233 Advertising sales: info@leds.iop.org Tel. +44 (0)117 930 1030

LEDS IN ARCHITECTURE

Escaping the bulb culture: the

future of LEDs in architectural

illumination

The real value proposition for LEDs lies in

the transformation from bulb culture to

digital light, says Sheila Kennedy. p13

LEDs find their niche in

architectural lighting

Lighting designer Iain Ruxton thinks that

LEDs are “still a bit of a gimmick” although

the technology has great potential. p23

STANDARDS

Industry alliance proposes

standard definition for LED life

“Ultimately, the successful adoption of

LEDs by the lighting community will

depend upon a consistent and accurate

presentation of life data.” p9

VEHICLES

Solid-state lighting in the

automobile: concepts, market

timing and performance

LEDs are not a “plug and play”

replacement for other technologies in

automotive front lighting. p25

Turner Field, Atlanta, is now home to the world’s largest high-definition television screen. p5

MARKETS

The LED market grew 37% to

reach $3.7 billion in 2004 p18

ANALYSIS

Color Kinetics and Super

Vision move towards their day

in court p3

LEDs Magazine is published by IOP Publishing Ltd and Cabot

Media Ltd. Contact address: Institute of Physics Publishing,

Dirac House, Temple Back, Bristol BS1 6BE, UK.

Many factors have to be taken into consideration when

designing LED flash units for camera phones. p19

The Chinese government is funding

developments in solid-state lighting. p16

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LED S

ANALYSIS

MAGAZINE

Patent protagonists head to court

By Tim Whitaker, Editor, LEDs Magazine

The Michael Jackson media circus might be the highest-profile trial

this year in the US, but not as far as the LED lighting community is

concerned. All eyes are on Boston, where the patent dispute between

two rival LED manufacturers, Color Kinetics (CK) and Super Vision

(SV), is due to be heard in May. The dispute casts a long shadow over

many other companies involved in selling LED lighting equipment.

Some fear the prospect of having to pay large royalty fees to CK, or

quitting the LED business altogether (at least in the US). And then

there’s the credibility of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

If you’re not up to speed with what’s happening you have a lot of

background reading to do (see Timeline, right; and Links , p4) . At

the heart of the case is CK’s patent portfolio: 38 patents granted to date

and more than 130 applications pending. CK has licensed its patents

to a number of companies, and has also used the patents as the basis

for cease and desist orders to prevent its competitors from selling

infringing products. While CK might be guilty of sharp business prac-

tices, the concept of deriving revenues from patent licensing is, of

course, widespread and entirely legitimate.

Timeline

1979 Jerry Laidman builds Saturn lighting systems using red,

green and amber LEDs.

Sep 1988 Richard Belliveau et al. file “Variable color lighting

system” patent, issued as 4 962 687 in Oct 1990.

Mar 1997 Tam Bailey files “Multicolored focusable LED stage

light”, issued as US 5 752 766 in May 1998.

Aug 1997 Color Kinetics (CK) files its first patent, “Multicolored LED

lighting method and apparatus,” issued as US 6 016 038

in Jan 2000.

Mar 2002 Super Vision (SV) files lawsuit seeking to have certain

CK patents ruled invalid.

Jun 2002 CK files lawsuit claiming infringement by SV of certain

CK patents.

Mar 2004 SV acquires “687” patent from High End Systems.

Mar 2004 SV files infringement lawsuit against CK over “687”

patent.

Oct 2004 LED Alliance formed by SV and other industry members.

Nov 2004 LED Alliance gathers evidence of prior art relevant to the

lawsuits.

Feb 2005 SV files motion for summary judgment, attaching

numerous affidavits.

May 2005 expected date of trial in the CK v SV infringement case.

Color Kinetics under fire

But what if your patents are not all they seem to be? The core issue is

that many believe CK’s patents to be largely without merit, saying

they contain claims which are obvious or do not have an inventive

step. The patents are based only on prior art, say critics; that is, they

use technology that was available in the public domain at the time of

filing. Not only that, but some of the claims in the patents are extremely

broad; for example, apparently covering any LED system that is con-

trolled using pulse-width modulation (PWM).

Recent affidavits from industry experts, filed by SV as part of the

infringement case, go even further. They point the finger directly at

CK founder George Mueller, the company’s president and CEO, say-

ing (to paraphrase) that Mueller, having been advised how to build

LED-based color-changing systems by others, promptly used this tech-

nology as the basis for CK’s first patents. These “others” in question

had not filed patents because they believed that all of the technology

involved was in the public domain.

One of the affidavits, signed by lighting engineer Tam Bailey, is spe-

cific on the issue of prior art: “Based on my skill in the art at the time,

in 1996 and 1997, I know that the use of PWM to control color-

changing in LEDs was common knowledge among those in the indus-

try, that addressable and controllable fixtures were easily designed by

one skilled in the art, and that networking of the LED lighting fixtures

was a known method of using any number of LED light fixtures to

accomplish a given result in concerts, stage productions, and any other

suitable lighting application.” The other affidavits contain similar

statements and also include additional documentation that is said to

constitute prior art.

Prior art is pretty straightforward: if any documented prior art (such

as published patent applications, technical papers or public conver-

sations) is discovered that matches and predates a patent claim, then

the application is toast. Johan van der Linden, a patent examiner at

the European Patent Office (EPO), explains the procedure: “For the

“If any documented prior art is

discovered that matches and

predates a patent claim, then the

application is toast.”

inventive step analysis, we compare the patent application with the

closest prior art. The difference between the two describes the tech-

nical problem to be overcome, and the patent should describe a solu-

tion to that problem. For a patent to be granted, the solution has to

have a clear inventive step.”

Judging an ‘inventive step’

Van der Linden says that the EPO judges an inventive step from the

point of view of a person “skilled in the art”, that is someone with an

encyclopedic knowledge of all relevant technology but no capabil-

ity to make an invention. If it’s obvious to this person that combin-

ing technologies without adding anything new will result in the same

solution offered by a patent claim, then the claim is no good. The

criterion for linking existing technologies via the technical problem

of the application makes this assessment somewhat less subjective.

In other words, something should prompt the skilled person to seek

this particular combination. It’s also highly relevant to point out that

many inventions, or inventive combinations of technologies, can seem

obvious in hindsight.

Many industry participants are extremely angry that CK has, in their

ledsmagazine.com April 2005

LED S

ANALYSIS

MAGAZINE

“It’s rare to see true innovation.

Most patent applications involve

incremental steps, so by definition

their patentable claims are narrow.”

opinion, combined prior art with very broad claims to build a patent

portfolio that it can use to gain dominance over others in the industry.

This threatens individual companies and the growth of the industry in

general. From an ethical standpoint, it’s fundamentally wrong that any

company should gain patent protection for something which isn’t an

invention, or which it did not invent. This is not how the system should

work, but in some cases it does.

Despite all of the negative comments made against the company,

CK’s patents are valid until a jury decides otherwise. If CK’s oppo-

nents are right, how did this situation arise? Did CK manage to pull

the wool over the patent examiner’s eyes? Or has CK, quite legiti-

mately, made the system work in its favor? Relevant prior art is meant

to be uncovered and understood by the examining patent office, so

was/is the USPTO overworked, or too inexperienced? And what will

happen within the USPTO if the jury says that CK’s patents shouldn’t

have been allowed – will the floodgates open as everyone tries to get

their rival’s patents overturned?

claims are narrow.” Of course, any claims that match the prior art

should be thrown out at the examination stage. In Europe, third par-

ties can use the centralized system to file observations when the patent

is still at the application stage, and can also file an opposition to the

patent up to nine months after it has been granted. After that, it becomes

a matter for the courts in each individual country.

As we all know, it’s not just CK that has (apparently) made the sys-

tem work for it. An anonymous person wrote to LEDs Magazine to

say: “Truck-Lite has patented such things as a License Lamp with

LEDs (US patent 5 934 798), and is currently in a court battle with a

company called Maxxima. They claim Maxxima infringes on their

patent because their lamps have such things as a lens, housing, and an

attachment member. I am amazed at what kinds of things currently

make it through the US patent office.”

In open letters to the USPTO, Wayne Howell of Artistic Licence,

a prominent LED Alliance member, has rubbished the independent

claims of certain CK patents. For example, of patent 6 869 204

Howell writes that “claim 1 simply describes a colour-changing light

designed to be immersed in a liquid, effectively a simple underwater

light. This is in no way novel, and was commercially available prior

to the priority date.”

The LED Alliance is going further in its attempts to put pressure on

the USPTO, encouraging anyone who feels strongly about this issue

to sign and send a petition, which can be found on the LED Alliance

website. The petition concludes: “Due to the willful and repeated

attempts to monopolize our industry and its prior art we hereby request

the USPTO to review all patents issued to Color Kinetics as well as

all pending applications.”

It should not be denied that CK has furthered the development of

the solid-state lighting industry, as CK executives have persuasively

argued in several articles on the LEDs Magazine website (see Links,

below) and elsewhere. However, no matter how much money a com-

pany invests, and how clever its lawyers are, it does not deserve to

profit from technology which it should not own, or to monopolize a

segment of the industry. For now, CK owns the patents and is in the

driving seat. Whether it remains there is for the jury to decide.

Obtaining broad protection

At this point, it should be stated that there’s nothing to prevent some-

one filing for broad protection. A patent attorney friend of mine

explained that it’s common practice to “chance your arm” with the

independent claims, by making them as broad as possible. As Johan

van der Linden says: “It’s rare to see true innovation. Most patent appli-

cations involve incremental steps, so by definition their patentable

‘ ‘ Clear

innovation ’ ’

L 2

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From emergency services to navigation

● We welcome your comments on this article or any other items in

LEDs Magazine. Please send an e-mail t o editor@leds.iop.org.

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Links

L Optics

LED Alliance: www.svision.com/ledalliance

Color Kinetics patents : www.colorkinetics.com/corp/

ipinfo/patents

Manufacturing

Highest quality World-Class production

On our website

A series of articles relating to CK, SV and the LED Alliance can be

found at : www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/features/1/12/10/1.

www.l2optics.com

ledsmagazine.com A pril 2005

LED S

NEWS

MAGAZINE

PARTNERSHIPS

Tridonic and Toyoda Gosei join

forces to promote white LEDs

PARTNERSHIPS

Cree agrees distribution rights

with European LED vendors

US LED manufacturer Cree has signed distribution agreements for

its XLamp products with European LED specialists Vossloh-Schwabe

(VS) Optoelectronic and Forge Europa. VS Optoelectronic will dis-

tribute XLamp LEDs in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and

the Benelux countries, while Forge Europa’s remit covers the UK,

other European countries and Russia. Cree spokesperson Deb Lovig

told LEDs Magazine that the company “believes that partnering with

experienced LED companies like VS Optoelectronic and Forge Europa

is the ideal way to access European lighting markets”.

Both Cree and Toyoda Gosei (see left) are playing catch-up with

their rivals that have a strong grounding in the European market: Osram

Opto Semiconductors, based in Germany, is vertically integrated into

the lighting market through its parent Osram, while Lumileds Lighting,

a joint venture between Philips and Agilent, has a facility in the

Netherlands.

Executives attend the signing of the joint venture agreement.

TridonicAtco GmbH & Co KG, the lighting components and con-

trol gear division of the Zumtobel Group, has signed a joint venture

agreement with Japanese LED manufacturer Toyoda Gosei to advance

the development of high-power white LEDs.

The 50:50 joint venture has been established with a fund of €2.6 m

($3.5 m), and further capital investments will be made in the future.

The joint-venture company will be based at Jennersdorf in Austria and

will commence business in May 2005, with production expected to

start by the end of the year.

The venture will sell high-power LED packages and components

for the general lighting market. The company is also aiming to develop

LED applications specifically for the European market, not least for

the automotive and communications industries.

“We are delighted to have found a competent partner in Toyoda

Gosei whose technological expertise and market presence make the

perfect complement for our existing LED activities,” says Zumtobel

Group CEO, Andreas Ludwig. “Our common goal now is to grow the

joint venture in the medium term into the world’s premier supplier

of high-performance LEDs for integrated lighting solutions.”

Austrian-based Zumtobel Group is a global lighting manufacturer

that made sales of €1.14 bn in the year ending April 2004. The group’s

divisions include Thorn Lighting, Zumtobel Staff and TridonicAtco.

In 2001 TridonicAtco assigned its LED activities to a separate sub-

sidiary, Tridonic Optoelectronics GmbH, based in Jennersdorf. Toyoda

Gosei, a company of the Toyota Group, is one of the largest manu-

facturers of blue LED chips, which are used to make white LEDs.

The relationship between the Zumtobel Group and Toyoda Gosei

started in November 2001 when Toyoda Gosei incorporated the phos-

phors developed by three companies, including Tridonic Opto-

electronics, into Toyoda Gosei’s high-luminosity white LEDs.

Subsequently, in July 2004, Toyoda Gosei obtained a share of patent

number WO02054502 (PCT/AT01/00364), held by the three compa-

nies, which describes a new phosphor used in combination with a blue

LED chip to create white light. Tridonic and Toyoda Gosei have since

jointly applied for patents on the improved technology.

● TridonicAtco : www.tridonicatco.com

● Toyoda Gosei: www.toyoda-gosei.com

DISPLAYS

Atlanta baseball ground has

record-breaking LED display

A huge high-definition display will entertain Atlanta Braves fans at

the newly renovated Turner Field in Atlanta this season. The 5600 sq ft

Diamond Vision screen built by Mitsubishi Electric was recognized

by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest high-definition

television screen.

The screen measures 21.76 × 24 m (71.4 × 78.8 ft), weighs 50 tons,

and contains nearly 5.2 million LEDs in 266 separate modules. There

are 1080 × 1200 pixels, with each pixel containing four LEDs. The pixel

pitch is 20 mm. The 400 000 W screen, which is cooled by 10 fans

that move 60 000 cu. ft of air per minute, can be accessed for service

via a nine-tiered catwalk behind the display.

● Diamond Vision Systems : www.diamond-vision.com

Tur ner Field is home to the world’s largest high-definition display.

ledsmagazine.com April 2005

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