Maxeon has filed a lawsuit in Germany alleging that Aiko Solar and four of its German product distributors have infringed a patent relating to their back-contact solar technology. It is the third lawsuit that Maxeon has filed against Aiko.
Singapore-based solar manufacturer Maxeon solar technologies has filed a new patent infringement lawsuit against the Chinese solar cell and module manufacturer Aiko Solar.
The lawsuit, filed in the Regional Court of Munich I in Germany, alleges that Aiko and its European distribution network have infringed Maxeon’s core back contact (BC) solar technology patent EP2297789B1 in Aiko’s “second and third generation” BC solar panel products, which are sold in the European market.
The lawsuit names four German distributors of solar energy products, Wattkraft GmbH & Co. KG, DWH Solutions GmbH, Memodo GmbH and Tepto GmbH, named as co-defendants.
Maxeon is seeking a permanent injunction through a court order, asking Aiko and the co-defendants to refrain from infringing activities, as well as the release of sales data of the accused products and compensation. Maxeon also demands the destruction of all infringing inventories in Germany.
“As with our previous actions against Aiko, we continue to include distributors as defendants,” said Marc Robinson, Associate General Counsel of Maxeon. “This lawsuit should serve as a reminder that the risk of patent infringement is not limited to manufacturers. Manufacturers and distributors of infringing products bear any risk of patent infringement.”
Under German patent law, downstream distributors who sell patent-infringing products can be liable for injunctions and damages, even if they were not involved in the production.
The lawsuit follows two previous intellectual property protection actions brought by Maxeon against Aiko and its sales channels.
In 2023 she filed a complaint with the court Mannheim Regional Court concerning infringement of Maxeon’s patent EP2297788. The court in The Hague ruled in May 2025 rejected a request for interim relief that Maxeon filed against Aiko in connection with the patent. The same court rejected Maxeon’s first request for an injunction in May 2024, prompting the company to immediately appeal.
In June 2024, Maxeon initiated a second lawsuit against Aiko and several of its partners previously the Unified Patent Court Local Division in Dusseldorf, claims infringement of Maxeon’s patent EP3065184.
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