First Solar Withdraws Section 337 Case Over TOPCon Solar Patents but Keeps Court Battles Alive
First Solar has moved to drop its Section 337 complaint filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission targeting TOPCon solar cell technology patents, according to a new report. The company, however, is not abandoning its intellectual-property enforcement effort: its parallel lawsuits in U.S. District Court over the same TOPCon-related claims remain in progress.
Section 337 actions are a trade-based remedy that allows patent holders to seek exclusion orders blocking imported products from the U.S. market. Such cases can move faster than district-court litigation, but the ITC route is limited to import-related conduct. With the complaint withdrawn, First Solar’s patent assertions will proceed exclusively through the federal courts, where remedies center on damages and injunctions rather than import bans.
The dispute centers on TOPCon — tunnel oxide passivated contact — cell architecture, which has become the dominant design among solar manufacturers globally. Enforcement of patent rights around advanced cell technologies has intensified as manufacturers race to deploy higher-efficiency formats, and litigation outcomes in the U.S. court system could shape how freely TOPCon-based modules move through American supply chains.
For solar project developers and module buyers, the practical near-term effect is unchanged: imported TOPCon modules remain freely available while the district-court cases run their course, and any material impact on supply would depend on future rulings rather than an ITC exclusion order.
First Solar is a vertically integrated U.S.-based module manufacturer best known for its thin-film CdTe technology, making its patent position on crystalline-silicon TOPCon designs a notable expansion of its IP footprint beyond its core product line. The withdrawal of the ITC complaint reduces one procedural front while leaving the underlying patent questions unresolved.
Elsewhere in the sector tape
In mining-sector trading, DMX.V closed at $0.51, down 0.97% from its previous close of $0.515, with a market capitalization of roughly $97.3 million — a reminder that small-cap resource equities continue to see modest daily moves even as solar-sector headlines dominate technology-adjacent news flow.
What to watch
- Upcoming docket activity and rulings in First Solar’s U.S. District Court lawsuits over TOPCon patents.
- Any renewed filings or amended complaints at the International Trade Commission.
- Licensing or settlement announcements involving TOPCon patent holders and module importers.
- Quarterly disclosures from First Solar on legal costs and any revenue or supply-chain effects tied to the litigation.
Source: original release
