PVTIME – A Dutch court has dismissed Maxeon Solar’s appeal for a preliminary injunction against Chinese solar manufacturer AIKO Solar, marking the second legal victory for AIKO in a dispute over back-contact (BC) cell technology. The Hague District Court rejected Maxeon’s request after the Singapore-based firm failed to pay the €375,000 ($423,480) security deposit required to proceed with the appeal.
The litigation focuses on Maxeon’s EP2297788B1 patent for back-contact solar cells, which the company had alleged AIKO infringed through its ABC technology. A company spokesperson stated that AIKO firmly upholds the value of technological innovation, emphasizing that the two-step process behind its ABC technology is an original invention supported by a robust intellectual property portfolio. The spokesperson added that AIKO takes IP protection very seriously and remains confident that its products do not infringe Maxeon’s patent.
This ruling follows the court’s May dismissal of Maxeon’s initial injunction bid, which prompted an immediate appeal. Maxeon later announced it would abandon the Dutch appeal to pursue the case through the EU’s Unified Patent Court (UPC), citing the body’s efficiency in handling complex intellectual property disputes. In a statement, Maxeon emphasized that while it did not proceed with the Dutch appeal, this does not preclude the company from initiating patent infringement litigation on the merits against AIKO’s products in the Netherlands based on the same patent.
The ongoing legal battle also includes a patent lawsuit filed by Maxeon against AIKO and German wholesaler Memedo GmbH in November 2023, which remains pending. AIKO’s consecutive legal victories highlight rising tensions in the BC solar sector, where technological differentiation and intellectual property protection have become critical for global market positioning.
