NEXTracker, a Flex company, filed a lawsuit for patent infringement against SunLink Corporation in December 2018. The lawsuit, filed in Delaware District Court, asserts SunLink used NEXTracker’s patented tracking technology without authorization.

The patents included in the lawsuit are Patent 9806669 for Single-axis support system for a solar collector, which was awarded Oct. 31, 2017; and Patent 9970686 for the Balanced solar tracker clamp, awarded May 15, 2018. The full patent infringement filing can be found here.

“The growth of the solar tracking industry is driven by innovative technologies that require significant financial investment and endless hours of research and development,” said Dan Shugar, NEXTracker CEO. “As the leading solar tracker organization, our intellectual property is core to our success and we are committed to vigorously protecting it against wrongful use.”

The court filing states, “NEXTracker has developed and acquired patents on key tracker technology; Sunlink saw NEXTracker’s patented technology and copied it.”

The balanced solar tracker clamp is “an adjustable hanger assembly configured with a clam shell clamp assembly,” the patent states, and the single-axis support system is essentially the supporting components used in a tracking mounting system.

News item from NEXTracker