Fallon Luminous Products wins legal victory in US Court of Appeals, which reversed earlier verdict in LED patent infringement case.
Fallon Luminous Products Corp., a manufacturer of lighted signs, has been successful in an appeal against a patent infringement ruling in favor of iLight Technologies.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington DC overturned the earlier decision of the District Court in Cookeville, Tennessee, and ruled in favor of Fallon in its appeal of a patent infringement suit brought against Fallon by iLight Technologies. The Court of Appeals vacated both the monetary judgment and the injunction that had been entered against Fallon by the District Court – see details of the Court of Appeals’ judgment.

Originally, iLight sued Fallon for infringement of claims 8 and 25 of US Patent no. 6,592,238; claims 1 and 8 of US Patent no. 6,953,262; and claims 1, 5, and 8 of US Patent no. 7,188,970 (see News).

The patents, assigned to iLight, relate to illumination devices for simulating neon lighting. Following a jury trial, iLight was awarded $3 million in damages, and Fallon was permanently enjoined from infringing the patents. The final judgement included a further $1.7 million in attorney’s fees and costs.

John Perrachon, CEO of Fallon Luminous Products, described the decision as “a major victory for our company and our customers. We believe this ruling validates what we have said consistently since the lawsuit was filed—that our products do not violate iLight’s patents.”

If iLight decides to engage in a new trial, Perrachon believes “it will be a simple matter to prove noninfringement in view of the appellate court’s ruling.” The Court of Appeals’ judgment indicates that the original trial included errors in the patent claims made in court by iLight, and in the Court’s interpretation of those claims.

Perrachon described the court’s decision as “a real victory for the lighting industry as a whole. We are confident it will help prevent unethical practices of companies who use legal manipulation in an attempt to extract fees from real manufacturers, and, as a result, increase customer costs.” Sources suggest that the victory could help to ensure that patent law is applied correctly in the industry, preventing companies who do not infringe on patents from being incorrectly penalized through inaccurate legal judgments or unethical licensing fees. Although the Court of Appeals’ judgement shows that Fallon has not infringed IlIght’s patents, it appears that the validity of the patents is in question. Fallon’s press release says that the validity of iLight’s patents is the subject of separate proceedings in front of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) brought by another company.

Also, according to Fallon, in March the USPTO rejected as unpatentable all of the claims in one of iLight’s three patents that were at issue in the Fallon trial. The USPTO is also reconsidering whether the other two patents asserted against Fallon should have ever been issued.

The Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has released the results of a field study of LED street lighting that was fielded in an upstate New York suburban business park. The field study confirmed the energy efficiency of the LED lights and that visitors judge the lights to be equal or superior to HID (high intensity discharge) street lights.

The study was conducted by LRC’s DELTA program that is sponsored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Delta evaluated 16 BetaLED Edge LED luminaires that were deployed along a curved, three-lane street built to serve a new office building in North Greenbush, NY.

The Edge luminaires integrate modular LED light bars that each house 20 LEDs. Lighting specifiers select the number of bars installed in each luminaire to match the required lumen output. The DELTA test used luminaires with three light bars each, mounted 30-ft high, and spaced 130- to 180-ft apart.

DELTA compared the LED installation to a neighboring HPS (high-pressure sodium) installation in the same business park. The DELTA study sought to quantitatively measure system performance, photometric performance, energy savings, and light pollution. Plus DELTA used volunteers to evaluate the LED lights.

The full results of the study are presented in the Field Test DELTA Snapshots: LED Street Lighting report (see related links to the right).

For the human evaluation, DELTA recruited 26 volunteers to visit the field site after dark in September 2009. The participants completed a survey based on their visit with questions ranging from how safe the participants felt in the area to the ability of the participants to recognize friends in the light. Comparing the lights at a high level, 44% rated the LED and HPS lights the same. while 40% rated the LED lights superior.

The LED lights, at 79W per luminaire, use 38% less power than the HPS system. DELTA relied on Lighting Analysts’ software to calculate illuminance along several hundred feet of roadway and found that the HPS system trailed the LED system in uniformity.

DELTA used the Outdoor Site-Lighting Performance (OSP) light pollution calculation techniques (developed by LRC) to compare the two installations. The LED installation did prove superior in terms of creating less light pollution. But the DELTA researchers attributed the difference more to the fact that the HPS installation was brighter than required than to the ability of LED luminaires to better control light within the test site.

A recent seminar highlighted the efforts of the European lighting industry to deliver high-quality, energy-efficient LED lighting solutions.
The European Lighting Industry, represented at European level in Brussels by the organizations CELMA for luminaires and components, and by the European Lamps Companies Federation (ELC) for lamps, organized the first joint CELMA / ELC LED Forum recently. The Forum was held on April 14 during the Light+Building Fair in Frankfurt.

A detailed review of the Forum will appear in the May/June issue of LEDs Magazine.

The objectives of the European Lighting industry are to increase the market opportunities for CELMA & ELC members for quality LED lighting products and systems by:

* Speeding up and increasing the adoption of LED products and luminaires
* Driving standards & future certification, in favour of quality solutions
* Educating the market

The objective of the CELMA / ELC LED Forum was to educate the market about the latest information available. The Forum was attended by 200 participants with representatives from the European Commission, authority officials from EU Member States and also from other countries in the world, Energy Agencies from different countries, lighting press and CEOs and representatives from the lighting industry and Lighting Associations from several regions of the world.

The Forum which was opened by Andreas Ludwig, CELMA President and closed by Jan Denneman, ELC President, was divided into the following sessions:

* Session 1 – Setting the scene by the European Commission
* Session 2 – State of the art for LED luminaires
* Session 3 – State of the art for LED lamps & LED modules
* Session 4 – How standardization and other initiatives can help to fulfill customers’ expectations with LED lighting solutions.

The Forum demonstrated that lighting with LED lamps, modules & luminaires is a viable choice. The European Lighting Industry is working very hard to:

* Deliver high-level “quality” LED lighting solutions to ensure satisfaction of consumers/users
* Support the EU in achieving its “20/20/20” energy-efficiency targets
* Contribute to a sustainable planet by leveraging the breakthrough LED technology

The European Lighting Industry seeks support from the European Union and the Member States for:

* Strong and rapid EU legislation to ensure only good quality LED products can reach EU consumers – to be complemented in the future by a new EU Lighting System Legislation
* Crucial need for effective Market Surveillance across EU
* Harmonized initiatives (including financial) to promote good quality LED products & systems
* Inclusion of LED Technology in the EU’s “New Industrial Policy” Framework and the 8th EU Framework Programme for Research
* Increased global cooperation and exchange of information.

All presentations made during the CELMA / ELC Forum, as well as the agenda and list of Participants, are available on the CELMA and ELC websites.

Click here to see out selection of LED Lights and LED Lamps

Based in Cork, Ireland, Nualight has received a EUR 9.1 million cash infusion that will help the company grow its business that is focused on LED-based light fixtures that are used to illuminate retail display cases. Climate Change Capital Private Equity (CPE) led the investment round taking EUR 3.75 million worth of regular and preferred shares and joining ESB Novusmodus, the renewable energy investment fund of the ESB Irish State electric utility, in an additional EUR 5 million investment.

Nualight supplies LED luminaires to international food and high-end retail chains. CPE Partner Simon Drury said, “Our due diligence showed that Nualight is a clear leader in developing the most effective lighting solutions for retailers, both in terms of energy efficiency and merchandising effects. With the company’s strong market position amongst display case manufacturers and retailers, and its high-quality management team, we are confident that the company will continue their growth as this market accelerates.”

CPE’s Drury will take a seat on the Nualight board of directors. Nualight CEO Liam Kelly said, “We are delighted to welcome CPE to Nualight and look forward very much to accelerating the development of the business from a significantly strengthened capital base. Nualight’s board and its investors now encompass interests and perspectives from international retail, global cleantech, and energy utility sectors, giving us a unique strategic perspective, and the capacity to target rapid growth and successful execution of our business plans.”

Nualight was founded in 2004 and has established a significant position in the retail market with its Vantium family of products that it can customize to customers’ needs. Retailers are rapidly moving to LED lighting to save energy and lower maintenance costs due to the long lifetime of LEDs. LEDs also prove superior to legacy lighting in terms of not damaging food products or soft goods from heat and UV radiation.

Some of Nualight’s existing supermarket customers include Tesco, Switzerland’s Migros and Co-op chains, and Rewe in Germany. Nualight also supplies its fixtures under private label contracts to companies around the globe.

CPE is a EUR 200 million fund that’s focused on investments in clean technology companies, and is managed by Climate Change Capital Ltd. The fund-management and advisory group invest globally. In addition to CPE, the group has a China fund focusing on renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

Click here to buy clean energy Led Light bulb technology

Your parents may have told you to eat your veggies, but we bet they never reminded you to turn them off when you leave the room. But they may have if you’d had ‘LIGHT BULBO’, an ingenious lamp made of a meter-length vegetal sponge which comes from a gourd in the pumpkin family. Conceived by clever Brazilian designer Duda Carvalho, the hanging lamp is illuminated by white LEDs inside. Now you can eat your veggies and illuminate your room with them too!

Written by Ariel Schwartz

Few people will argue that LED lights are particularly attractive, but they may just be able to make you more attractive. German researchers reported that people who received several weeks of treatment under LED lights experienced a lessening of skin wrinkles similar to what is seen with Botox treatments.

The researchers’ study points out that LED lights penetrate the skin and cause changes in sub-surface tissue by changing the molecular makeup of a layer of water on elastin (the protein that provides elasticity in skin).

So in addition to being an energy-efficient form of lighting, we can now also refer to LED lights as a safe alternative to rat poison injections.

Originally Posted on CleanTechnica.com

Philips Research seems to be very keen on attracting the tech savvy attention at this year’s IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) with a world-first demonstration of the jackets and furniture that are set to change the face of global fashion. The jackets and furniture feature its innovative Lumalive technology. Lumalive textiles make it possible to create fabrics that carry dynamic advertisements, graphics and constantly changing color surfaces. Philips Research has made immense progress in fully integrating Lumalive fabrics into garments demonstrated by the jackets worn by Philips’ hostesses at the show. The first generation jackets are all set to commercialize through companies partnering Philips Research. What makes Fabric out-of-the-world is flexible arrays of colored light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that are fully integrated into the fabric. All the innovation without the slightest trace of comprise on softness or flexibility of the cloth. These light emitting textiles make it possible to create materials that can carry dynamic messages, graphics or multicolored surfaces. Fabrics like drapes, cushions or sofa coverings become active when they illuminate in order to enhance the observer’s mood and positively influence his/her behavior. So it goes without saying apart from making a fashion statement, the apparels intend to have a sound effect on the physiological state of mind.

The jackets are comfortable to wear, and the Lumalive fabrics only become obvious when they light up to display vivid colored patterns, logos, short text messages or even full color animations. The electronics, batteries and LED arrays are fully integrated and invisible to the observer and wearer. The jackets feature panels of up to 200 by 200 mm², although the active sections can be scaled up to cover much larger areas such as a sofa. Its obvious that you might mistake these jackets for garments that cannot be washed…well Philips is kind enough to embed Lumalive technology with provisions to disconnect batteries and control electronics (which shouldn’t come in contact with water) from the fabric when washed and then reconnect the same parts again. Moreover even the light-emitting layer can be easily removed and refitted to the jacket.

Where can science fiction possibly go when real-life headlines proclaim that researchers have created LED lightbulbs from salmon DNA? University of Connecticut researchers have added fluorescent dye to salmon DNA and spun the DNA strands into nanofibers to create a brand new material that gives off a bright white light. A LED light is coated with the DNA nanofibers, and voila, a salmon DNA lightbulb is born.

While other scientists have experimented with materials like silica nanoparticles and block copolymers to alter the color of light given off by a LED bulb, salmon DNA has proven most successful. Tuning the light quality from cool white to warm white is just a matter of tweaking the ratio of dyes because, according to researchers, “the DNA fibers orient the dyes in an optimum way for efficient [fluorescence energy transfer] to occur.” So salmon DNA bulbs could overcome at least one hurdle for LEDs–complaints about brightness.

But despite advances in color tuning, University of Connecticut scientists don’t know if their LED bulbs will be cheaper or more energy-efficient than current LED bulbs, which are already more efficient than CFLs and incandescents. And with high-end LED bulbs selling for as much as $80, price will ultimately be the barrier that makes or breaks the success of LEDs in the market.

Originally Posted on Fastcompany.com