Taiwan Intellectual Property Court confirmed the validity of Heraeus' Taiwan Patent No. I432539 by an interlocutory judgment and dismissed Giga Solar Materials Corporation's invalidity defense.

On June 10, 2015, Heraeus filed a complaint with the Taiwan Intellectual Property Court against Giga Solar for patent infringement of Heraeus' Taiwan Patent No. I432539. The litigation is still pending before the Intellectual Property Court. Heraeus is confident that its allegation for the pending issues (including the infringement issue) will be supported by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Court.

On December 30, 2015, the China Patent Reexamination Board confirmed the validity of Heraeus' Chinese Patent No. 201010529562.7, which is related to Heraeus' Taiwan Patent No. I432539. The company holds the belief that the two favorable decisions in China and Taiwan further strengthen Heraeus' intellectual property rights.

Heraeus' Taiwan Patent No. I432539 discloses a use of a conductive paste for forming a solar cell electrode, including: a conductive powder comprising silver as a main component; glass frit; and an organic vehicle, wherein the glass frit contains tellurium glass frit having 30 to 90 mol% of tellurium oxide as a network-forming component. The patented technology makes it possible to form a solar cell electrode having a low dependence on firing temperature without causing problems due to fire-through into the substrate, and to thereby obtain a solar cell having good solar cell characteristics.

"We are very pleased that the Taiwan Intellectual Property Court concluded that our patent is valid," said Andreas Liebheit, President of the Heraeus Photovoltaics Global Business Unit. He added, "We make significant investments in our R&D for one reason: to constantly deliver new ideas and greater value for our customers so they can make their products more innovative and their businesses more successful. The court's favorable ruling is a win for our customers."