LED Patent status?

[abcha0s]

The patent is only valid in the US. AI is paying royalties to Orbitech. This is why Vertex Illumina does not sell directly into the US market. The patent does not apply in Canada; however, most successful Canadian businesses would be hurt by not having access to the US market.

I can't say for sure, but the rumor is that the patent only applies to dimmable LED setups. This is why Marine Land setups are exempt. You also see other LED manufactures selling directly into the US like Orphex, but again - not dimmable.

There are ways around the patent, but that's up to you to figure out.

AFAIK - at the moment, the patent stands. It costs a lot of money to fight a patent and the market isn't really big enough to justify the cost - yet. To be successful, all of the manufactures would probably need to pool their resources and fight it together.

- Brad