Super Vision International, a Florida-based manufacturer of fiber optic and LED lighting, has filed a lawsuit in excess of $10.5 million against Color Kinetics, Boston. The company is seeking royalties and damages, claiming that Color Kinetics violated U.S. Patent #4,963,687 on “variable color lighting systems.”
Inventor Richard Beliveau originally developed the patent for High End Systems. Super Vision then obtained the patent from the company, stating that it was a necessary step in the continuation of the development of its color-changing LEDs. The patent covers the use of networked, centrally controlled, addressable color-changing lighting systems that incorporate pulse width modulation and variable digital control circuitry that can vary the intensity of individual lamp elements to generate unlimited colors.
Color Kinetics denies the merit of the lawsuit, saying Super Vision’s allegation of infringement is based on an incandescent lighting patent that is unrelated to LED-based lighting systems. In addition, Color Kinetics filed litigation in June 2002, claiming Super Vision infringed numerous Color Kinetics patents.
