Stock Code: Longi Green Energy Technology Co.Ltd(601012) stock abbreviation: Longi Green Energy Technology Co.Ltd(601012) Announcement No.: Lin 2022023 bond Code: 113053 bond abbreviation: long 22 convertible bond
Longi Green Energy Technology Co.Ltd(601012)
Announcement on the progress of Hanhua suing the company for patent infringement
The company and all members of the board of directors guarantee that there are no false records, misleading statements or major omissions in the contents of the announcement, and bear individual and joint liabilities for the authenticity, accuracy and completeness of its contents.
1、 Basic information of litigation
March and April 2019, hanwhaqcells & Advanced Materials Corp And its related parties (during the trial, due to the internal reorganization of Hanhua, the plaintiff / patentee of the case was changed to hanwhasolutionscorporation, hereinafter referred to as “Hanhua”) successively filed patent infringement lawsuits with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC), the District Court of Delaware, the federal court of Australia and the District Court of Dusseldorf, Germany, Claim that some products sold by Longi Green Energy Technology Co.Ltd(601012) (hereinafter referred to as “the company”) and its subsidiaries in the above regions infringe Hanhua’s patent rights (us9893215 patent in the United States and ep2220689 and au2008323025 in Europe and Australia), and request to judge that the photovoltaic module products sold by the company and its subsidiaries in the above three places infringe their patent rights, Request injunctive relief and tort damages, and bear litigation costs and other reasonable expenses. For the above litigation cases, the company has disclosed relevant progress announcements on March 7, 2019, March 12, 2019, April 9, 2020, April 14, 2020, May 20, 2020, June 5, 2020, June 20, 2020, July 9, 2020, October 8, 2021 and November 5, 2021 respectively. The main information is as follows:
In June 2020, ITC issued the final ruling, ruling that the sued enterprises including the company did not violate Article 337 and terminated the investigation. On July 31, 2020, Han Hua appealed the final decision of 337 to the U.S. Federal Circuit Court. On July 9, 2021, the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeal held a hearing, and the final judgment on July 12 upheld the original judgment of ITC.
According to the order made by the Delaware District Court on April 16, 2019, the case is suspended until the final decision of ITC procedure (including appeal procedure) is made or the relevant investigation is rejected. Therefore, as of the date of this announcement, the company’s case in the Delaware district court is still suspended.
In June 2020, Longji, Germany received the first instance judgment of Dusseldorf district court, which ruled that Longji, Germany infringed the patent right of Hanhua, Germany. On July 7, 2020, Longji, Germany received the letter of service of the provisional enforcement order of the first instance judgment of the District Court of Dusseldorf, Germany. On July 14, 2020, the company filed an appeal to the high district court of Dusseldorf, Germany. As of the date of this announcement, the appeal is still in the suspension stage pending the examination result of patent objection by the European Patent Office.
As of the date of this announcement, the company’s case in the federal court of Australia is still in the stage of pleading and evidence investigation.
In March 2021, hanwhasolution Corporation filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Longji of the Netherlands, Longji of Germany and Longji of Hong Kong to the Paris court, requesting to determine that some products sold by the above subsidiaries of the company in France infringe the patent right of Hanwha ep2220689, prohibit the sales of relevant products in France, recall inventory and pay infringement and damages. As of the date of this announcement, The above-mentioned cases are still in the stage of litigation defense.
In July 2021, Hanwha solutions Corporation filed an application for a simple cross-border temporary injunction against longI (Netherlands) trading B.V. (hereinafter referred to as “Longji, the Netherlands”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, with the District Court of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In November 2021, the company received the cross-border temporary injunction officially delivered by the judicial police (case No. / volume No.: C / 10 / 621252 / kg ZA 21-563). The company appealed against the decision.
For the above-mentioned litigation, the company has hired overseas lawyers to actively respond to the lawsuit. At the same time, the company has also initiated the patent invalidation or objection procedure to the U.S. patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office. On December 3, 2020, the U.S. patent and Trademark Office made a ruling on the IPR (multi-party review) procedure proposed by the company for the patent involved (us9893215), ruling that all the above patent rights involved in the case were invalid. In February 2021, Han Hua filed a lawsuit against the above invalid ruling to the U.S. Federal Circuit Court. As of the announcement date, the appeal was still in the trial stage; On October 21, 2020, the European Patent Office issued preliminary opinions on the objection procedure of the company and other relevant policies against the patent involved (ep2220689), and preliminarily determined that the claims of the relevant patents do not possess novelty and creativity. As of the date of this announcement, the European Patent Office has not made a ruling.
2、 Progress of litigation
On March 3, 2022 Dutch time, the appeal court of the Hague officially served the appeal judgment on the summary cross-border temporary injunction (case No. / volume No.: C / 10 / 621252 / kg ZA 21-563) to Longji, the Netherlands, as follows:
(I) basic information and case content of this lawsuit
Please refer to the relevant announcement disclosed by the company on October 8, 2021.
(II) this judgment
(1) The judgment shall not be implemented from the date of formal delivery of the judgment in Lungi, the Netherlands. The products involving hi-m03, hi-m03m, hi-m04, hi-m04m, hi-m05 and hi-m05m components are in Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Austria, Portugal, Spain Direct and / or indirect infringement of Hanhua ep2220689 European Patent in 11 countries of the UK and Switzerland;
(2) Dutch Longji sent a rectification letter to its customers in the above countries, informed that the above products provided by Dutch Longji may infringe in the above 11 countries, and asked to stop providing the above products (the above products are mentioned in the customer’s website and product manual), and the relevant products can be returned to Dutch Longji at the expense of Dutch Longji.
3、 The impact of this lawsuit on the company’s operation
The company believes that the content of this judgment lacks legal basis and factual basis, and the company will immediately appeal in accordance with relevant laws. The subject of this judgment is only Longji, the Netherlands. The behavior and customers of other companies except Longji, the Netherlands are not subject to any restrictions of this judgment, and a small amount of returned products can still be legally sold outside the above 11 countries in Europe.
The company has completed the upgrading and transformation of 14 production lines in factories in Yinchuan and other places (with an annual capacity of more than 6Gw). The relevant products produced are the products that Han Hua has clearly confirmed that there is no risk dispute with the patents involved, and have been provided to customers in Europe and Australia. The transformation of the other 16 production lines will depend on the market demand. This judgment will not have a material impact on the current operation and future development of the company.
4、 Risk tips
The company will pay close attention to the progress of Han Hua lawsuit and timely fulfill the obligation of information disclosure in accordance with the stock listing rules of Shanghai Stock Exchange and other relevant regulations.
It is hereby announced.
Longi Green Energy Technology Co.Ltd(601012) board of directors March 7, 2002
