local time, First Solar, an American photovoltaic module manufacturer, announced that. JA Solar Technology Co., Ltd., JA Solar International, Ltd., JA Solar Vietnam Co., Ltd., and JA Solar Industrial Corp. ( " JA Technologies "), and American Panel Solutions LLC ( "AMPS") filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. Alleged that the above related parties infringed its US patent No.
It can be seen that First Solar sued not only Jingao Technology, but also Corning .
Only one move, the Digital New Energy DataBM. Com of Chinese Enterprises
has noticed that. First Solar's lawsuit is still based on its U.S. patent No
. This patent is a TOPCon patent acquired by First Solar through its acquisition of TetraSun, Inc in 2013.
First Solar's announcement shows that the company acquired TOPCon patents and related international patents in the United States through the acquisition of TetraSun in 2013. Its patent portfolio has been licensed in the United States, Australia, Canada, China (including Hong Kong), the European Union, Japan, Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam, with patents valid until 2030 and beyond. At the same time, there are many pending patent applications in the European Union, Japan, Hong Kong, China, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. In July
2024, First Solar publicly announced that it held the above patent portfolio and disclosed that it was investigating the infringement of a TOPCon photovoltaic patent technology.
At the time, Jason Dymbort, First Solar's executive vice president, general counsel and secretary, said, We are investigating several leading crystalline silicon solar manufacturers for possible infringement of our patents. If infringement is found, we intend to defend our rights by challenging the ability of potential infringers to lawfully manufacture, assemble, and sell infringing TOPCon technology through enforcement, licensing, or other measures.
Although First Solar did not specify the target of the investigation, the industry is keenly aware that the move is likely to be directed at Chinese photovoltaic companies.
Chinese photovoltaic companies such as Jingke Energy , Atlas and Trina Solar in the Delaware District Court. The reason for the accusation is consistent with the case of Jingao Technologies, which accused the company of infringing its US patent No.
For First Solar's accusation, Chinese photovoltaic companies launched a counterattack.Both JinkoSolar and Atlas filed IPR proceedings (multi-party review proceedings, similar to patent invalidation proceedings) with the United States Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), but were refused to file . In response, JinkoSolar filed a unilateral retrial proceeding with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) against First Solar's patented technology.
However, on April 29, 2026, the State Intellectual Property Office of China declared the patent of "High Efficiency Solar Cell Structure and Manufacturing Method" held by TetraSun invalid .
According to industry insiders, the patent declared invalid is the patent No. First Solar sued several Chinese photovoltaic enterprises in the United States.
It has withdrawn the "337 investigation"
and sued Chinese photovoltaic enterprises in local courts. First Solar also submitted to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) a "337 survey" of 47 photovoltaic companies. Involving China , Germany , India , Japan , South Korea and other multinational enterprises.
Among them, there are 29 enterprises with Chinese background (including overseas subsidiaries), namely, Jingke Energy (8), Atlas (6), Trina Solar Energy (5), Jingao Technology (5) and Runyang Stock (5). According to the
China Trade Information Relief Network on October 8, 2026, on October 6, ITC announced that it had made 337 partial final rulings on TOPCon solar cells, modules, panels and their components and downstream products: the preliminary ruling (No.45) made by the administrative judge of the case on September 4, 2026 was not reviewed . That is, the listed defendants AXITEC, LLC of Radnor, PA, German AXITEC Energy GmbH & Co.
, on June 24 and July 24, ITC announced part of the final ruling on the "337 investigation" mentioned above. On the basis of the withdrawal of the applicant, First Solar, the Mundra Solar Energy Ltd. Of India, the Adani Green Energy Ltd. Of India.On September 15,
local time, First Solar announced that it had withdrawn its previous application for "337 investigation" and decided to terminate the ITC's ongoing investigation procedure. The company said the termination did not affect the possibility of future lawsuits.
At the same time, First Solar also said that it would continue to push forward in the future because of the suspension of TOPCon patent global rights protection action by launching the "337 investigation". Judging from the current situation, the company has begun to act.
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