The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has made a final decision in a patent infringement case between Shoals Technologies Group and Voltage over trunk bus cable assemblies used on solar projects.
Credit: Shoals
Lisa R. Barton, secretary to the ITC, signed the letter that determined Voltage did infringe upon Shoals patents and violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 by importing infringing LYNX trunk bus products into the United States. The ITC has placed a limited exclusion order against Voltage’s infringing products.
“We’re proud to defend American intellectual property and the innovators who design, invent, and manufacture in the U.S.,” said Brandon Moss, CEO of Shoals. “Protecting intellectual property is essential to securing America’s energy future, and we appreciate the ITC’s decision in reinforcing that. Shoals will continue to champion U.S. innovation and manufacturing by investing at home, protecting its intellectual property and helping build a resilient American energy supply chain.”
Voltage’s next-generation trunk bus solutions — LYNX PLUS — were found to not infringe on the Shoals patents, and the company will continue to market the redesigned solutions in the United States. Voltage intends to open a new eBOS manufacturing site in North Carolina to produce more Made-in-America product.
“Voltage Energy independently developed its trunk bus solutions and will continue to innovate. The solar industry depends on open and fair competition, not efforts to eliminate competitors through litigation and unfair business practices,” said Li Wang, CEO of Voltage Energy.
This is expected to be the final determination in a lengthy patent infringement battle between Shoals and Voltage. There has been some back-and-forth between the two companies as to when products were first developed and when patents were obtained. Read about the previous decisions here.
