First Solar sues China's JA Solar for patent infringement

Oct 1 (Reuters) - US solar panel maker First Solar FSLR.O sued China's JA Solar 002459.SZ and a solar subsidiary of Corning GLW.N on Thursday, expanding its patent enforcement campaign after announcing last month that it would shift its focus from a federal trade case to litigation.

• First Solar accused JA Solar, along with Corning's American Panel Solutions, of infringing a US patent related to the manufacture of high-efficiency TOPCon solar cells, according to a complaint filed in US District Court in Delaware.

• The lawsuit alleges the defendants have manufactured, imported and sold solar cells and modules that use processes covered by the patent. JA Solar was the original developer of a solar panel factory in Arizona that Corning acquired in 2025.

• First Solar, which makes cadmium telluride thin-film solar panels, acquired the patents through its 2013 purchase of TetraSun. The patents cover TOPCon, or tunnel oxide passivated contact, a solar-cell technology that has become widely used by manufacturers of crystalline silicon solar panels.

• Last month, First Solar said it would withdraw a patent complaint pending before the US International Trade Commission and instead pursue infringement claims against rivals through federal litigation. The company has said it is also pursuing cases involving affiliates of Canadian Solar, Jinko Solar, T1 Energy and Trina Solar.

• Neither JA Solar nor Corning was immediately available for comment.