By Kim Yoo-chul
Dongbu LED, the lighting affiliate of Dongbu Group, said Tuesday that it has signed a licensing deal with German-based Osram over patents in light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
The agreement allows Dongbu to use key Osram-owned white conversion-related patents by paying royalties, Dongbu said in a statement.
Dongbu is the fifth Korean firm to sign such a licensing deal with Osram after Seoul Semiconductor, Lumens, Samsung Electronics and LG Innotek.
``Our top clients, including Sharp, Hitachi, Panasonic of Japan and General Electric (GE) of the United States, strongly asked us to sign a licensing deal with Osram as the German company is the global leader to supply LED packaging and modules,’’ said a Dongbu spokesman, adding the deal will help the group see rises in revenue and profit in LEDs.
``The deal will significantly help us gain big momentum in Japan and the United States ― the two markets that dominate with 60 percent of global LED lighting demand,’’ he said.