The two largest solar manufacturers in China have ended a long-term global patent struggle and agreed to Cross-License core technologies in a movement that could reform the innovation landscape of the industry.
Jinkosolar and Longi jointly announced on 19 September that she and their affiliated companies have reached an extensive settlement about all current patent conference worldwide. The Agreement terminates lawsuits submitted in China, the US, Europe, Japan and Australia, and establishes a commercial regulation with cross-licensing of selected core octroys.
The joint statement has drawn up the deal as a demonstration of the dedication of both companies on the protection of intellectual property (IP) and industry cooperation. Jinko and Longi said they would continue to invest in research and development, the commercialization of advanced technologies and could explore deeper cooperation.
The ceasefire follows for more than a year of escalating lawsuits between the two groups, aimed at competing solar cell technologies: tunnel oxide -passivated contact (Topcon), supported by Jinko and Back Contact (BC), promoted by Longi. The dispute had become emblematic for the shift of the industry from price -driven competition to legal warfare on patent portfolios and technological dominance.
The conflict started after Jinko 745 of the LG group of Zuid -Korea had acquired in 2022, which strengthened the hand in Topcon and BC technologies. Jinko then launched a wave of infringement cases. These include suits in China and Japan who claimed that the products of Longi Topconctreaten were shaking, as well as the procedure in Europe and Australia designed to limit the rollout of the BC modules of Longi.
Longi reacted with counter -progresses aimed at his almost 200 BC. Patents for technology. It sued Jinko in the US and China, where the infringement of BC module designs was supplied, while also invalidating the patents of Jinko in Europe and the US. At the same time, Longi accelerated the commercialization of its BC products, which have received market share in Europe, whereby the commercial interests behind the legal fights were underlined.
In the core, the dispute was equally with the business strategy as a technology, where this settlement marked an important hinge. Cross-licensing can reduce the immediate legal risks for both parties, while it indicates a broader trend of the industry to balance aggressive IP defense with pragmatic cooperation.
In their joint explanation, Jinko and Longi said that they would “explore opportunities for deeper cooperation” in the future, so that the door was opened for possible cooperation between the world’s two largest solar manufacturers in the next generation of cells.
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