Friday, January 14, 2005

Blue LED Inventor Wins Patent Settlement

Shuji Nakamura, a UCSB professor, has won a record settlement over his former employer's failure to compensate him for the invention of the blue lED, according to Japanese paper Asahi Shimbun. Nichia Corp, which holds a near monopoly on the blue LED market, was ordered to pay 844 million yen (roughly $8.2M U.S. dollars) to the inventor for his invention. The court had originally ordered the firm to pay Nakamura 20 billion yen. The lawsuit has highlighted Japan's lack of rewards for innovative scientists and engineers.