China’s solar industry has launched its first TOPCon-focused patent pool, led by Trina Solar, JA Solar and JinkoSolar, to streamline licensing, reduce disputes and strengthen IP coordination at home and abroad.
China’s photovoltaic industry has formally launched its first patent pool, a move that could reshape how intellectual property is licensed and enforced across the country’s solar energy manufacturing value chain.
The platform was unveiled in Beijing on April 21 at an event led by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), with organizational support from the Chinese Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) Intellectual Property Committee and the National PV Manufacturing Industry IP Operation Center.
The patent pool was jointly initiated by Trina Solar, YES solar energyAnd JinkoSolarand focuses on TOPCon solar cell and module patents in mainland China. According to announcements at the launch event, the pool initially included 54 Chinese patents and patent applications. It is designed to operate on an open, market-based basis, combining cross-licensing between members with one-stop licensing for third-party implementers.
Organizers said the model aims to improve licensing efficiency, reduce litigation and limit the risk of ‘patent cropping’ as TOPCon technology matures. Reports from the event indicated that all rights holders are eligible to join, while licensing rates will be determined based on market practices, national licensing data and similar agreements. A separate expert advisory committee has been established, consisting of fourteen specialists, to monitor compliance, legal robustness and antitrust considerations.
The new patent pool appears to represent an industry-level effort to shift competition from pricing alone to technological value, licensing discipline, and coordinated enforcement abroad. A Chinese media report published on MIIT’s official website linked the initiative to broader efforts to curb “involution-style” competition and strengthen intellectual property protection in strategic emerging industries. For exporters, the pool can also provide a more coordinated framework for addressing overseas patent challenges as Chinese PV companies expand in Europe and other key markets.
The launch follows a period of increasingly visible patent litigation within the Chinese solar sector, especially around TOPCon. In September 2025, Long and JinkoSolar announced a global settlement of pending patent claims and litigation between the parties and their subsidiaries, ending litigation and establishing cross-licensing agreements for certain core patents.
A similar case followed in November 2025, when JA Solar and Astronergy reached a global settlement of pending patent litigation, agreed to end related legal proceedings and cross-licensed their TOPCon portfolios.
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