The top three global LED vendors, Nichia, Osram and Lumileds/Philips, are threatened by the fast growing Korean and Taiwanese companies, as competition in the global LED market becomes tougher, according to a market research firm.

Seoul Semiconductor announced on May 12 the launch of its 120lm/W high-efficiency, SMD type LED for general lighting. The LCW100Z1 delivers over 120lm/W with an enhanced primary optic including enhanced heat transfer and the metal substrate, according to the company, while the pricing of the LCW100Z1 is comparable to similar-sized Chip LED’s that can tolerate only half of the current.

Seoul Semiconductor, a leading LED maker of Korean, has signed an agreement to license its UV patent for a portable fluorescent forgery detector. Portable fluorescent forgery detectors are mainly applied in identification of forgeries of bank notes, securities, passports, gift coupons, and ID cards by commercial banks, financial companies and small businesses that mainly transact securities. As counterfeit money raise concerns around the world, demand of the product is expected to grow substantially.

Seoul Semiconductor Co. will be a supplier of 300 thousand pieces of LED for “LED Farming Demonstration Project” which is organized by Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry of Japan with the purpose to demonstrate the application of LED in farming lighting.

Seoul Semiconductor has announced to replace outdoor lightings of a Senator business center with exclusive solid state light, Acriche. The project has been completed by a Russian lighting expert company Vitrulux Oy.

Korea LED maker Seoul Semiconductor announced it released a 1.4W ultra-slim Z-power LED series 'Z1'; Warm White (part #: NZ10150) and Pure White (part #: WZ10150). The high performance Z-power LED 'Z1' is only 1.2 mm of thickness, but maximum lumens reach 120.

Recently, Seoul Semiconductor Co. Ltd enters into a cross license agreement concerning white LEDs using silicate system phosphors with TridonicAtco Optoelectronics GmbH (TOE) and its patent partners. Based on this cross license agreement, Seoul enhances its flexibility to manufacture various kinds of LEDs besides its own white LEDs.

Recently, Seoul Semiconductor releases the ultra bright Z-Power P7 LED Series, and claims to deliver the world’s highest brightness of 900 lumens at 10 W to replace the conventional bulbs.

On October 1, 2008, Korea Intellectual Property Tribunal ("KIPT") ruled that a patent, related to LED element, (Patent # KP 491482, hereinafter "'482 patent") owned by Nichia Corporation ("Nichia) is invalid based on lack of inventiveness.

LEDinside recently conducted an in-depth interview with Liquidleds Lighting Corp (Liquidleds) CEO, Mr. Kun-Yuan Chiang (Chiang), in relation to the industry of LED.

It's reported Seoul Semiconductor has recommended a new Top-View LEDs with high CRI, high efficacy and high reliability. Generally, the Warm White part (CAWT722-S) has a CRI of 96 and achieves 68 lm/W, while the Pure White (CWT722-S) has a CRI of 92 and produces 70 lm/W. moreover, it is important to note that these figures are for a drive current of 60 mA and a power consumption of 0.192 W. The light output of the pure white and warm white devices is only 13.9 and 13.1. lm, respectively.

Recently, Japanese LED maker Nichia Corporation has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Germany against its Korean rival, Seoul Semiconductor Co. Ltd. The lawsuit claims that Seoul's Acriche series white LED product infringes the Nichia patent EP(DE)622858. Seoul's German subsidiary, Seoul Semiconductor Europe GmbH, and its German distributor, Conrad Electronic SE, are also listed in the lawsuit, which seeks injunctive relief and compensation for damages.