OSRAM GmbH

OSRAM GmbH is a German high-tech photonics and lighting company headquartered in Munich. The OSRAM brand name was registered in 1906, and the company was formally founded on July 1, 1919. In July 2020, OSRAM was acquired by Austrian sensor manufacturer ams AG, and its operating company, OSRAM GmbH, is now part of the combined ams OSRAM group. The parent group, ams OSRAM, is headquartered in Austria and co-headquartered in Munich, with global revenues of approximately €3.3 billion in 2025 and around 18,500 employees worldwide.

As a high-tech photonics company, OSRAM's portfolio focuses on semiconductor-based technologies, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs), lasers, optical sensors, and other opto-semiconductors. The company serves the automotive, industrial, medical, and consumer electronics markets. Its products are used in a wide range of applications, from automotive headlights and interior lighting to smartphone sensors, virtual reality, and intelligent lighting systems for buildings. While historically one of the world's largest manufacturers of traditional lightbulbs, the company has increasingly focused on its high-tech and semiconductor-based offerings.

OSRAM's patent litigation posture is that of an operating company defending its products. The company has been tracked as a defendant in one U.S. patent case and has not been a plaintiff. This defensive stance is typical for a large technology manufacturer. The single tracked case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, a venue frequently favored by patent plaintiffs.

The notable case is Greenthread, LLC v. OSRAM GmbH, filed in April 2023. The plaintiff, Greenthread, LLC, has asserted a portfolio of semiconductor patents against numerous technology companies, including Texas Instruments, Intel, and Cirrus Logic. The case against OSRAM and its affiliates was dismissed with prejudice in April 2024, exactly one year after it was filed, meaning Greenthread cannot re-assert the same claims. This litigation activity occurred following OSRAM's 2020 acquisition by ams AG, a strategic move that combined ams's sensor expertise with OSRAM's lighting and emitter technologies.