SolarEdge Hit With Rival Patent Suits Over Solar-Power Tech

Ampt sued Israeli solar-energy company SolarEdge Technologies Inc in Delaware federal court and at a US trade tribunal on Thursday for allegedly violating several of its patents related to solar power.

Fort Collins, Colorado-based Ampt argued in the lawsuits that SolarEdge’s systems infringe eight patents related to Ampt’s power optimizers for photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Ampt CEO Levent Gun said in a statement Thursday that SolarEdge had “sought to improve its own position in the PV market by unlawfully using our proprietary technology without asking our permission or compensating us.”

A SolarEdge spokesperson said Monday that the company recently won a long-running dispute with Ampt at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office over their respective inventions. SolarEdge said Ampt was “now shopping around its claims to other courts,” and it plans to mount a “vigorous defense.”

The patents cover improved methods for converting sunlight into usable energy. Ampt said its technology enhances efficiency and reduces costs for solar-power systems.

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