Chinese solar manufacturer Trina Solar has initiated legal action against Canadian Solar Inc. and its subsidiary, Changshu Canadian Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd., for allegedly infringing two of its TOPCon solar cell technology patents.

The lawsuit, filed with the Jiangsu High People’s Court, seeks CNY 10.58 billion in damages, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing intellectual property battles within China’s solar sector.

According to Trina Solar’s announcement on Feb. 10, the dispute centers on two patents: Patent No. ZL201710975923.2, titled “Solar Cell Module,” and Patent No. ZL201510892086.8, titled “Solar Cell and Its Manufacturing Method.”

“Through comparative analysis, we have determined that Canadian Solar and its subsidiary have engaged in the manufacturing, offering for sale, and selling of photovoltaic modules that fall within the protection scope of the two patents,” Trina Solar said in a statement. “These unauthorized activities have severely infringed upon Trina Solar’s legal rights and resulted in significant economic losses.”

The company is demanding that Canadian Solar cease all infringing activities, destroy any remaining inventory and specialized production equipment, and compensate for financial losses – CNY 6.07 billion for one patent and CNY 4.51 billion for the other. Trina Solar is also seeking reimbursement for legal expenses, estimated at CNY 4 million.

The Jiangsu High People’s Court has officially accepted the lawsuit, and Trina Solar has received court notification confirming the case’s filing. However, a trial date has yet to be scheduled.

Canadian Solar issued an announcement stating that it had received the civil summons and litigation-related materials from the Jiangsu High People's Court and had reviewed the plaintiff's litigation requests.

“We believe that there is strong evidence to prove that these two patents should be invalid,” it said. “Our products and processes do not infringe these two patents either. Therefore, Trina Solar’s litigation requests lack a factual and legal basis.”

In July, Trina Solar's general director for Latin America and the Caribbean, álvaro García-Maltrás, told pv magazine that the company was actively investigating whether other manufacturers were violating its patents for TOPCon solar cell technology.

At the time, García-Maltrás did not identify any specific manufacturers and expressed confidence that the company could reach reasonable solutions through settlement agreements rather than resorting to legal action.

“We don't want to enter in any legal dispute,” he noted. “But we would like those companies that identify that they have a void in their internal management systems, they look for a way to fill it, either with their own patents or by approaching the owners of the used patents to talk about licensing agreements.”

In February 2024, Trina Solar and its South Korean rival, Hanwha Qcells, reached a settlement on a patent dispute that Trina Solar initiated in January. The two companies announced in a joint statement that they had reached a patent licensing and transfer agreement.

Since early 2024, competition in China’s solar industry has shifted from pricing battles to a full-fledged patent war. A series of intellectual property disputes over TOPCon and back contact (BC) technologies has erupted, involving major industry players such as Trina Solar, Canadian Solar, Longi, JinkoSolar, JA Solar, and Astronergy, among others. This case marks the latest development in this ongoing conflict.

by pv magazine