JinkoSolar Receives Determination in German Court in Patent Litigation Brought by Hanwha Q CELLS
SHANGHAI and MUNICH: JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (“JinkoSolar”) (NYSE: JKS), one of the largest and most innovative solar module manufacturers in the world, today responded to the Regional Court of Düsseldorf’s recent determination concluding that third-party cell technology contained in certain JinkoSolar modules, no longer in production, infringes a patent held by Hanwha Q CELLS. JinkoSolar believes the Düsseldorf court came to an erroneous conclusion and will appeal the decision. JinkoSolar is also challenging the Hanwha patent’s validity at the European Patent Office (“EPO”).
Importantly, the scope and impact of the Düsseldorf court’s decision is limited to Germany. Additionally, the decision relates to third-party cells included in older versions of JinkoSolar-branded modules which are no longer in production. As such, the decision has no impact on current JinkoSolar customers, and JinkoSolar may continue to import and sell modules that use its own cell technology to customers in Germany.
“We respectfully disagree with the recent decision of the Düsseldorf court, which did not take any independent expert evidence and based its decision on one sided allegations,” said Kangping Chen, CEO of JinkoSolar. “We continue to believe that Hanwha’s claims are without merit and were brought solely to slow down our business momentum. We will pursue all legal avenues to vigorously defend against Hanwha’s claims, including contesting the validity of the patent associated with the cell technology in question. Providing JinkoSolar’s customers with industry-leading solar modules remains our top priority and we will continue to work tirelessly to achieve that end.”
About JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.
JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS) is one of the largest and most innovative solar module manufacturers in the world. JinkoSolar distributes its solar products and sells its solutions and services to a diversified international utility, commercial and residential customer base in China, the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Chile, South Africa, India, Mexico, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, and other countries and regions. JinkoSolar has built a vertically integrated solar product value chain, with an integrated annual capacity of 17.5 GW for mono wafers, 10.6 GW for solar cells, and 16 GW for solar modules, as of March 31, 2020.
JinkoSolar has over 15,000 employees across its 7 productions facilities globally, 14 overseas subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, India, Turkey, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, United States, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Australia, and global sales teams in China, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Greece, Ukraine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Morocco, Kenya, South Africa, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Poland and Argentina.
To find out more, please see: www.jinkosolar.com
Safe-Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends, “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other things, the quotations from management in this press release and the Company’s operations and business outlook, contain forward-looking statements. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in JinkoSolar’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.
