National News

Blue LED inventor to get ¥843 million

An inventor and his former employer reached an million court-mediated settlement Jan. 11 in a dispute over the patent for the blue light-emitting diode, widely used in traffic signals, mobile phones, illumination and other products.

Shuji Nakamura speaks at a news conference Jan. 12, a day after reaching an ¥843 million settlement with his former employer, Nichia.

The amount of the settlement, mediated by the Tokyo High Court, is the largest ever in Japan as compensation for an invention by a corporate employee, although it has been sharply reduced from the ¥20 billion the Tokyo District Court ordered Nichia Corp. to pay Shuji Nakamura last year.

The case of Nakamura, now a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has grown to symbolize the struggle of individual workers against companies over intellectual property rights in a nation where selfless corporate devotion has long been the rule.

The day after the deal was reached, Nakamura, 50, angrily told a news conference that he was "forced into reaching a settlement."

"The high court practically did not read the reams of documents I presented and had decided on the amount for the settlement from the outset," Nakamura said. "Can this be called the judgment of justice?"

Nakamura said he repeatedly told his lawyer that he wanted to take the case to the Supreme Court but later decided to settle because he believed the high court would have awarded him an even smaller amount.

He said he was glad that he had not taken further legal action and was relieved to finally be able to concentrate on his work. (Kyodo)

Shukan ST: Jan. 21, 2005

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