MUNICH, Germany — Oerlikon Solar, the solar subsidiary of Swiss Oerlikon technology group, has filed a lawsuit against Sunfilm AG of Grossroehrsdorf, Germany. The Swiss company claims that Sunfilm's thin film manufacturing process infringes upon Oerlikon's patents. The move could in fact be aimed to hit Sunfilm's equipment provider Applied Materials.

In its measure, Oerlikon refers to European Patent EP 0 871 979 B1 which protects fundamentals of the micromorph tandem cell technology, developed by the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland. The technology is used in manufacturing systems for thin film photovoltaic cells on glass substrates. Oerlikon claims it is the exclusive licensee of this patent and the terms of the license include the right to enforce the patent against infringements.

Oerlikon has filed Tuesday (June 10) a complaint against Sunfilm AG at the District Court of Duesseldorf, Germany,. "With this action, we are taking steps to protect our core assets and those of our customers," said Jannine Sargent, CEO of Oerlikon Solar, in a statement. "Our IP represents the cumulative work product of thousands of scientists and engineers for over twenty years, including millions of dollars of investment."

Sunfilm seems to have been taken by surprise by the Oerlikon move. A company spokesperson only affirmed that the company has received the complaint Tuesday night. "Now our management is about to scrutinize the content," she said. She was unable to say if and how Sunfilm will react.

Oerlikon Solar designs and produces complete production lines for the manufacturing of thin film silicon solar modules. According to a spokesperson, the patent protects the production equipment. In the PV production equipment market, the Swiss company competes with giant Applied Materials which has supplied Sunfilm's manufacturing equipment. This raises the question if the real addressee of the complaint could be Applied Materials. However, neither in in Applied's European Headquarters in Badhoevendorp (Netherlands) nor in the company's nor in Applied's PV technology center in Alzenau (Germany), somebody was available for comment.

The timing of the move — one day ahead of opening of the Intersolar trade fair in Munich — is certainly not convenient for Applied Materials. "If an Applied customer is sued over a production process, this certainly affects the equipment provider as well," an industry watcher said on the request of anonymity.