JinkoSolar heading towards win in patent dispute with Hanwha Q Cells

Chinese solar module maker JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS) today announced two favourable developments in its defence against the patent litigation brought by South Korean competitor Hanwha Q Cells.

JinkoSolar said in a statement that the administrative law judge in the investigation against the company and two other sector players, LONGi Solar and REC Group, had issued an initial determination granting JinkoSolar's motion for summary determination of non-infringement. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) is expected to issue its opinion within 30 days, after it reviews the ruling, the Chinese company noted.

Meanwhile, the US Patent and Trademark Appeal Board (PTAB) has ruled that JinkoSolar and REC Group have established a reasonable likelihood of prevailing in showing that certain claims of the patent in question “are unpatentable." A final written decision on the issue of patentability is expected by December 2020.

As previously announced, Hanwha Q Cells claims that JinkoSolar had unlawfully incorporated the Korean company’s patented passivation technology into solar cells being imported and sold in the US.

"These independent determinations by two separate bodies confirm what we have said from the start of this litigation: Hanwha's lawsuit, based on a single patent, was without legal or technical merit, and was brought only to slow down our momentum," said Kangping Chen, CEO of JinkoSolar.

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