Company Affirms Commitment to Enforcing Patents Against Infringement
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Feit Electric Company, Inc. (“Feit Electric”), a leading global lighting and smart home brand headquartered in California, today announced that its innovative light bulbs with visible white filaments are protected by a set of patents, the “white filament patents.”
“We spend a lot of time reading customer reviews and listening to retailer feedback,” said Alan Feit, President of Feit Electric. “And we started hearing that some consumers had concerns about the more distinctive yellow filaments in LED bulbs especially when the lights were off in a fixture without any shades. They loved everything else about the light quality, long life, and energy savings of LED but not everyone liked the look. So, we wanted to introduce a fresh alternative to the traditional yellow filament with a more modern and minimal style.”
Unfortunately, Feit Electric’s innovation is prompting others to copy and to offer likely infringing products to retailers, even after the suppliers and the retailers have been put on notice. The white filament patents are directed to a covering for the yellow material used on LED packages, including but not limited to LED filament packages and SMD LED packages: U.S. Patent Nos. 8,604,678; 8,610,340, 8,610,341, 8,614,539, and 8,957,585.
Mr. Feit noted that “We believe that our patents are fundamental and dominant for covering the yellow material used for LED filaments.” Mr. Feit also said that there are several misunderstandings in the market to clear up.
- Feit Electric has not licensed its white filament patents to any other light bulb supplier.
- Owning or having a license in any other patent that is supposedly directed to white filaments does not preclude infringement of the Feit Electric white filament patents – a patent is a right to exclude, not a right to practice.
- Another light bulb supplier supposedly has a patent covering white filaments. That patent is based on a patent application filed long after the Feit Electric white filament patents were filed, and such patent is therefore likely invalid in view of the Feit Electric white filament patents. And more importantly, we believe that it is not possible to practice that patent without infringing the Feit Electric white filament patents.
- It is our understanding that some LED package suppliers and/or some bulb suppliers have been offering a form of patent infringement insurance for a royalty. Patent infringement insurance is only as good as the entity offering such protection and it does not preclude a retailer from being sued and liable for patent infringement.
“While we would prefer that our competitors respect our patents, we are committed to enforcing our patents against infringers if they do not. We also hope that retailers look to us for light bulbs with visible white filaments, rather than infringers,” said Mr. Feit.
Feit Electric’s new line of white filament decorative lighting is available at The Home Depot and Ace Hardware stores. For more information on Feit Electric’s white filament product line visit feit.com.
About Feit Electric
Founded and headquartered in California, Feit Electric is celebrating over 45 years as a leading global lighting and smart home brand. Through innovative design, supply chain expertise, and industry-leading technology, Feit Electric offers its customers a full portfolio of reliable lighting products including home décor lighting collections, light fixtures, smart and feature-rich high-performance lighting solutions as well as a full line of general household, specialty light bulbs in all shapes, sizes, and configurations. For more information, visit feit.com, and follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b06f06df-dfe9-4e93-9dfb-10358c707fa4
