DURHAM, N.C., May 28, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq:CREE), a market leader in LED lighting, announces that it has entered into an agreement with Toyoda Gosei providing the companies (including wholly owned affiliates) with access to each other's patented LED chip and packaged LED technology (including white LED technology). Toyoda Gosei and Cree have agreed in the future to discuss "have made" rights for LED chips.
Cree and Toyoda Gosei both hold broad and substantial optoelectronic patent portfolios. The agreement will make it easier for both companies to develop and manufacture LED products without concern for the other's patents.
"Cree and Toyoda Gosei are responsible companies that respect the intellectual property rights of others and strive to enhance the development of LED technology," said Chris James, Cree vice president of marketing and business development. "The agreement highlights the importance of intellectual property in the LED marketplace and helps to alleviate the IP concerns of LED customers."
Other terms of the patent agreement were not disclosed but are not expected to have any material financial effect on either party.
About Cree
Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and setting the stage to obsolete the incandescent light bulb through the use of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting retrofit solutions, and semiconductor solutions for backlighting, wireless and power applications.
Cree's product families include recessed LED down lights, lighting-class power LEDs, high-brightness LEDs, blue and green LED chips, power-switching devices and radio-frequency/wireless devices. Cree solutions are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, variable-speed motors, and wireless communications.
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For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com.
About Toyoda Gosei
Founded in 1949, Toyoda Gosei is a customer-driven, global company that researches, develops and manufactures products of exceptional quality for a variety of fields within the automotive industry. Toyoda Gosei initiated its LED research and development in 1986 and in 1991 successfully developed the world's first blue LEDs based on gallium nitride. The company's optoelectronic business has continued to develop and grow and Toyoda Gosei is a leading innovator and patent holder in the solid-state lighting industry. Today the company manufactures thousands of millions of blue, green, purple and white LEDs with world-leading luminous intensity. To meet the growing need for environmentally friendly light sources, the company continues to develop LEDs to meet the performance and functional requirements for applications that include cellular phones, full color displays, traffic signals, automobiles and general lighting. Toyoda Gosei is headquartered in Aichi, Japan, with 44 facilities in 16 countries. Please visit www.toyoda-gosei.com for more information.
This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including risks of uncertain product demand; our ability to complete development and commercialization of products under development; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render products obsolete; and other factors discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 24, 2007, and subsequent filings.
Cree is a registered trademark of Cree, Inc.