(Reuters) – Solar panel maker Maxeon Solar Technologies’ unit filed patent infringement lawsuits against China’s Shanghai Aiko Solar and its subsidiaries in a German court, alleging violation of its European patent for solar cell architectures.
Singapore-headquartered Maxeon said on Wednesday its proprietary and fundamental solar cell architectures for rear or back contact solar cells, called All-Back Contact (ABC) solar cells, help produce higher energy yield than conventional cells.
“Maxeon expects Aiko and Memodo (Aiko’s wholesaler) to respect the patent rights and immediately stop unauthorized use of the patented technology,” said Lindsey Wiedmann, Maxeon’s chief legal and sustainability officer, in a statement.
Aiko Solar did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Earlier this year, rival solar panel maker First Solar reached an agreement with Toledo Solar after suing it in an Ohio district court over allegedly selling First Solar’s Asian-made panels as its own under “made in the U.S.A” labels.
(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)