[Berlin, Germany, November 4, 2021] Qcells today confirms that the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court in Germany has upheld the decision made by the Düsseldorf Regional Court to impose a coercive penalty payment against LONGi and REC for not fully complying with the requirements of the sentenced obligation to recall specific solar products that have been considered by the Court in the first instance to unlawfully incorporate Qcells’ patented technology.
Despite the Regional Court of Düsseldorf’s judgement of June 16, 2020, in which the ruling stated that the defendants were legally obliged to recall specific solar products that have been considered patent-infringing (and since January 30, 2019 were sold via the distribution channels with respect to commercial customers in Germany), LONGi and REC – the Higher Regional Court ruled – failed to fully meet the requirements of the recall obligation. Hence, the Regional Court’s decision to impose each company to pay a penalty for this failure was justified.
Qcells filed patent infringement lawsuits against REC and LONGi in March and April 2019, respectively. The Regional Court of Düsseldorf ruled that the defendants had unlawfully incorporated Qcells’ patented technology into specific solar products of the respective brands, and Qcells initiated the provisional enforcement of the decision. The defendants appealed against this June 16, 2020 ruling. After that, Qcells suspected that subsequently the defendants did not take sufficient actions to fulfil the recall obligation directed by the Court. Thus, Qcells applied to levy penalty payment on LONGi and REC, asserting for their non-compliance with the recall obligation.
The court emphasized in its decision that the debtor of a recall obligation – both LONGi and REC – have to make a serious request to their commercial customers to voluntarily return the infringing product. If either LONGI or REC, in their recall requests, imply that compliance with the recall request is at the discretion of the customer, the debtors have to clearly inform their customers that they are at risk of being directly held responsible by the patent owner to meet the requirements for the recall obligation.
The court further held that both LONGi and REC have to submit copies of all letters sent or a list of the letter recipients to Qcells to enable verification of fulfilment of the recall obligation.
Dr. Daniel Jeong, CTO of Qcells, said: “Qcells stands by the Court’s decision, which is in line with the company’s commitment to protect innovations from being unfairly used. “As an industry leader, Qcells takes seriously its responsibility to establish a healthy landscape, in which time- and capital-intensive R&D efforts are properly protected. We will continue to take all necessary actions to verify the fulfilment of all requirements of the recall obligation of REC and LONGi.”
In the Netherlands, meanwhile, the Dutch Court has ordered LONGi (NETHERLANDS) TRADING B.V. to refrain from any activities that induce, facilitate or profit from infringement of the patent in the countries where Qcells’ affiliate HANWHA SOLUTIONS CORPORATION is the registered patent owner. Our full statement on this ruling can be found here.
About Qcells
Qcells is one of the world’s largest and most recognized photovoltaic manufacturers for its high-performance, high-quality solar cells and modules. It is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea (Global Executive HQ) and Thalheim, Germany (Technology & Innovation HQ) with its diverse international manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Malaysia, China, and South Korea. Qcells offers the full spectrum of photovoltaic products, applications and solutions, from cells and modules to kits to systems to large-scale solar power plants. Through its growing global business network spanning Europe, North America, Asia, South America, Africa and the Middle East, Qcells provides excellent services and long-term partnerships to its customers in the utility, commercial, governmental and residential markets. For more information, visit: www.q-cells.com.
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