EVERLIGHT Electronics Co., Ltd. on April 25, 2017 filed its complaints with Tokyo District Court against Nichia Corporation, Citizen Electronics Co., Ltd. and Daiko Electronics Co., Ltd. for patent infringement.

People visiting this year’s Burning Man will be awed by an enormous installation project created by a group of artists from San Francisco: a lifelike tree decorated with 15,000 LED lights, motion sensors and sound detectors.

Epistar Corporation, a leading innovator and manufacturer of LED solid-state lighting technologies, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Lowe’s Companies, Inc. and Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC (collectively “Lowe’s”) in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on April 28, 2017. The complaint asserts that Kichler Lighting’s LED filament bulbs and Utilitech’s LED bulbs sold by Lowe’s infringe several Epistar patents and seeks injunctive relief to halt further sale of the infringing products.

Smart lighting start-up Gooee, creator of the first ‘full stack’ cloud-based ecosystem that connects lighting manufacturers to the Internet of Things (IoT), has joined Philips Lighting’s SR (Sensor Ready) certified program.

DOE has published the results of a study of the expected contributions to sky glow from converting high-pressure sodium (HPS) street lighting to broader-spectrum (i.e., white light) sources, with specific focus on LEDs, and presents the contributions in a manner relative to HPS baseline conditions. These conditions represent typical conversions in the U.S. and include changes in spectral power distribution (SPD), percent uplight, and lumen output.

LIGHTFAIR International will open May 7 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in the 28th staging of the world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference.  Tens of thousands of professionals from around the world will experience the products and knowledge transforming the future of light and technology in the Pre-Conference LIGHTFAIR Institute® (May 7 – 8) and Trade Show & Conference (May 9 – 11).

Due to a major asset restructuring, from July 18, 2016, shares trade of MLS, China’s leading LED packaging manufacturer, remained suspended until May 2, 2017. MLS announced it would spend up to RMB 4 billion (around US$580 million) to acquire the whole ownership of Guangdong Mingxin Optoelectronic, which holds a 100% stake in LEDVANCE. By doing so, MLS would gain full control of LEDVANCE, originally Osram’s lamps and lighting unit. This partnership is expected to create synergies in manufacturing, distribution, R&D, and branding, offering both sides important competitive advantages in the post LED lighting era.

LEDVANCE is unveiling new SYLVANIA lighting solutions for the commercial and residential market at Booth 1701 at LIGHTFAIR International (LFI), the world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference taking place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center May 7 — 11, 2017. In North America, LEDVANCE offers professional users and retail customers SYLVANIA advanced LED bulbs, standardized luminaires and smart lighting solutions, as well as traditional light sources.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2017, Osram saw a significant lift in its growth rate. On a comparable basis, i.e. adjusted for portfolio and currency effects, revenue generated in the period January to March rose by around 10 percent year on year to reach €1.05 billion. 

Dutch lighting giant Philips Lighting announced that its Saudi Arabia JSC has signed a strategic distribution agreement with major retailor Ahmed Abdulwahed Trading Company to sell its LED and home products, according to Arab News.

Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. announced consolidated first-quarter revenues of KRW 257.5 billion. The rise in consolidated revenue came from strong sales in general lighting and strength across all segments within the IT division. The rise in automotive lighting sales also proved highly profitable for the company.

Micro LED has become an obvious technology trend that even Samsung has started to eagerly tap into. According to international OLED publication OLED-info, Samsung is rumored to acquire Taiwan-based Micro LED manufacturer PlayNitride for up to US$150 million. Samsung would use the next generation display technology for VR applications and TVs in the future, the report said.

MaxLite will demonstrate IntelliMax™, an intelligent wireless lighting control system, at LIGHTFAIR® International 2017, May 9-11, in Philadelphia.

LG Innotek is participating in Light Fair International 2017 in Philadelphia, U.S. from May 9 through 11. The company will target the global market while introducing various new products including UV (Ultraviolet rays) LED packages, high-power LED packages, LED for automotive, etc. 

The increased use of LEDs for horticultural lighting has made that product segment especially competitive. A recently issued U.S. Patent covers an invention that dramatically reduces the cost of manufacturing horticultural LEDs! The company that acquires this patent and implements this technology will leapfrog the technology of all of its competitors and grab a significant share of the horticultural LED market. 

U.S. LED lighting manufacturer Cree announced a layoff of around 70 jobs across its local operations and at its headquarters in Durham, only days after it announced disappointing earnings report.

If you are doing hydroponic food production or thinking about doing this type of production, your input is needed. Controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) production researchers Roberto Lopez and Kellie Walters at Michigan State University and Chris Currey at Iowa State University have developed a survey to gain a better understanding of current hydroponic food production practices. The researchers will also use the results of the survey to help determine future research projects as well as their extension efforts.

The Zhaga Consortium, a global association of lighting companies that is standardizing components of LED luminaires, has finalized several new and updated specifications for LED lighting products that are typically used in spotlighting and related applications.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has formally requested that the Secretary of Energy complete a rulemaking for general service lamps (light bulbs) that Congress required in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA-2007). 

Delta, a major provider of power and thermal management solutions, announced its subsidiary Delta Products Corporation was named as 2017 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year - Product Brand Owner Award winner by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on April 26.

Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (Orion Lighting), a designer and manufacturer of high-performance, energy-efficient LED lighting products, announced preliminary, unaudited financial results for its fourth quarter (Q4 ’17) and fiscal year ended March 31, 2017.

Hong Kong will soon replace its street lights with more energy-efficient LED units, government officials confirmed. The competent authority, Honk Kong Highways Department, on Wednesday said due to mature LED technology and the significant drop in prices of LED light, the department agrees now is the right time to commence LED street lights replacement scheme. It added that replacement work has already started in the current financial year.

U.S. LED maker Cree Inc. on Tuesday reported a fiscal third-quarter loss that missed expectations. Shares of Cree further plunged 11% on Wednesday. Cree also announced that it is forming a joint venture with San’an Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., China’s largest maker of LED epitaxial wafers and chips, to produce and deliver to market high-performing, mid-power lighting class LED packaged products. The news caused quite a stir in the LED industry.

Hong Kong-based investment company Kiu Hung International Holdings Limited ("Kiu Hung International" or the "Group") plans to develop robotic technology business in the hotel industry together with Shanghai Liming Intelligent Technology Limited ("Shanghai Liming"). The 2014 Nobel Laureate physicist, Professor Shuji Nakamura, was invited to the conference named "First Launch Front-desk Robot in China", hosted by Shanghai Liming and title-sponsored by the Group to share his views on the trend and potential of the intelligent hotel technology business.

Monocrystal, a specialist in synthetic sapphire growing and processing, announced the release of its new Ultra-Clean sapphire wafers.

AIXTRON SE (FSE: AIXA; OTC: AIXNY), a major provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, announced its financial results for the first quarter 2017.

Osram Lighting Solutions designed and implemented innovative LED hall lighting for the Nordichallen, a modern exhibition space and football hall in the Swedish city of Sundsvall. The new lighting solution complies with professional light requirements as stipulated by the Swedish Football Association and simultaneously saves around 65 percent energy. The home team of GIF Sundsvall, a club in the Allsvenskan premier Swedish football league, uses the hall for daily training, hall competitions and friendly matches.

Apart from reporting its third-quarter financial results, Cree, Inc. on Tuesday also announced that it is forming a joint venture with San’an Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. to produce and deliver to market high-performing, mid-power lighting class LED packaged products in an exclusive arrangement to serve the expanding markets of North and South America, Europe and Japan, and serve China and the rest of the world on a non-exclusive basis.

Cree, Inc. on Tuesday announced financial results for its third quarter of fiscal 2017, ended March 26, 2017, which missed Wall Street expectations. Shares of Cree declined over 7% in after-hours trade.

Osram announced the availability of SIMPLUX™, a simple standalone wireless lighting control system designed for small- to mid-sized spaces up to 10,000 square feet and/or up to 100 nodes. For maximum design flexibility, SIMPLUX enables specifiers to choose virtually any manufacturer’s luminaire that has a 0-10V dimmable ballast or LED driver, and deliver fixture-by-fixture or full group control as needed. SIMPLUX also offers an easy upgrade path to POLARIS 3D software and the ENCELIUM® networked light management system for more sophisticated, enterprise-level control or integration to building automation systems via BACNet®.