US 9722104

Here is a concise summary of US patent 9722104:

US Patent Number: 9722104

Title: Solar cell and method for manufacturing the same

Current Assignee: Trina Solar Co Ltd

Original Assignee: LG Electronics Inc

Inventors: Jungmin Ha, Sungjin Kim, Juhwa CHEONG, Junyong Ahn, Hyungwook Choi, Wonjae CHANG, Jaesung Kim

Filing Date: November 27, 2015

Issue Date: August 1, 2017

Abstract:
A solar cell includes a semiconductor substrate, a tunnel layer on the first surface of the semiconductor substrate, a first conductive type semiconductor region on the tunnel layer and configured to include impurities of a first conductive type, a second conductive type semiconductor region on a second surface which is the opposite surface of the semiconductor substrate and configured to include impurities of a second conductive type opposite the first conductive type, a first passivation film on the first conductive type semiconductor region, a first electrode formed on the first passivation film and connected to the first conductive type semiconductor region through an opening portion formed in the first passivation film, a second passivation film on the second conductive type semiconductor region, and a second electrode formed on the second passivation film and connected to the second conductive type semiconductor region through an opening portion formed in the second passivation film.

Plain-Language Overview of Each Independent Claim:
The full text of the patent's claims was not provided in the source material, therefore a plain-language overview of each independent claim cannot be provided at this time.

CAFC 2026 Dockets:
No specific cases directly related to US patent 9722104 were found in the 2026 dockets of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit from the conducted search. However, the patent family has been involved in several litigations, including cases filed in the International Trade Commission (e.g., 337-TA-1422, 337-TA-3773, 337-TA-1425) and PTAB (e.g., IPR2025-00918, IPR2025-00186, IPR2025-00007), and District Courts (Delaware and California Central). Decisions from these bodies are sometimes appealed to the Federal Circuit.

Known litigation involving US patent 9722104 (US9722104B2) includes the following cases, as identified from the patent's Google Patents entry [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US9722104](/patent/US9722104)/en]:

1. International Trade Commission Case

• Jurisdiction: International Trade Commission
• Case Number: 337-TA-1422
• Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the overview; listed as "US case filed".
• Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview. (Likely the patent owner, Trina Solar Co Ltd, or a prior owner like [LG Electronics Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/LG%20Electronics%20Inc.) [cite: Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.) Trina Solar Co Ltd, Original Assignee LG Electronics Inc])
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview.
• Outcome/Current Status: Critical [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9722104/en]

2. PTAB Case

• Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
• Case Number: IPR2025-00918
• Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the overview; listed as "PTAB case IPR2025-00918 filed".
• Plaintiff(s): Petitioner: Unified Patents [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9722104/en]
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview. (Likely the patent owner, Trina Solar Co Ltd. [cite: Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.) Trina Solar Co Ltd])
• Outcome/Current Status: Final Written Decision [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9722104/en]

3. Delaware District Court Case

• Jurisdiction: Delaware District Court
• Case Number: 1:24-cv-00557
• Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the overview; listed as "US case filed".
• Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview. (Likely the patent owner, Trina Solar Co Ltd, or a prior owner like LG Electronics Inc. [cite: Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.) Trina Solar Co Ltd, Original Assignee LG Electronics Inc])
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview.
• Outcome/Current Status: Filed [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9722104/en]

4. California Central District Court Case

• Jurisdiction: California Central District Court
• Case Number: 2:24-cv-07694
• Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the overview; listed as "US case filed".
• Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview. (Likely the patent owner, Trina Solar Co Ltd, or a prior owner like LG Electronics Inc. [cite: Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.) Trina Solar Co Ltd, Original Assignee LG Electronics Inc])
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview.
• Outcome/Current Status: Filed [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9722104/en]

5. International Trade Commission Case

• Jurisdiction: International Trade Commission
• Case Number: 337-TA-3773
• Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the overview; listed as "US case filed".
• Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview. (Likely the patent owner, Trina Solar Co Ltd, or a prior owner like LG Electronics Inc. [cite: Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.) Trina Solar Co Ltd, Original Assignee LG Electronics Inc])
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview.
• Outcome/Current Status: Filed [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9722104/en]

6. International Trade Commission Case

• Jurisdiction: International Trade Commission
• Case Number: 337-TA-1425
• Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the overview; listed as "US case filed".
• Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview. (Likely the patent owner, Trina Solar Co Ltd, or a prior owner like LG Electronics Inc. [cite: Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.) Trina Solar Co Ltd, Original Assignee LG Electronics Inc])
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview.
• Outcome/Current Status: Filed [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9722104/en]

7. Delaware District Court Case

• Jurisdiction: Delaware District Court
• Case Number: 1:24-cv-01115
• Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the overview; listed as "US case filed".
• Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview. (Likely the patent owner, Trina Solar Co Ltd, or a prior owner like LG Electronics Inc. [cite: Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.) Trina Solar Co Ltd, Original Assignee LG Electronics Inc])
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview.
• Outcome/Current Status: Filed [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9722104/en]

8. PTAB Case

• Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
• Case Number: IPR2025-00186
• Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the overview; listed as "PTAB case IPR2025-00186 filed".
• Plaintiff(s): Petitioner: Unified Patents [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9722104/en]
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview. (Likely the patent owner, Trina Solar Co Ltd. [cite: Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.) Trina Solar Co Ltd])
• Outcome/Current Status: Final Written Decision [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9722104/en]

9. PTAB Case

• Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
• Case Number: IPR2025-00007
• Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the overview; listed as "PTAB case IPR2025-00007 filed".
• Plaintiff(s): Petitioner: Unified Patents [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9722104/en]
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the overview. (Likely the patent owner, Trina Solar Co Ltd. [cite: Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.) Trina Solar Co Ltd])
• Outcome/Current Status: Final Written Decision [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9722104/en]

Further details regarding specific plaintiffs, defendants, and exact filing dates for the District Court and ITC cases would require direct access to the referenced court dockets or the detailed case pages on the Unified Patents portal, which is beyond the scope of this direct search result compilation.

Proceedings overview

US Patent 9722104 has been the subject of three AIA trial proceedings, all Inter Partes Reviews (IPRs), which have concluded with a Final Written Decision. As of today, June 15, 2026, all three IPRs (IPR2025-00918, IPR2025-00186, and IPR2025-00007) have reached a Final Written Decision stage, with varying outcomes regarding claim validity. The detailed outcomes from these proceedings will determine the bottom-line defensive posture, as claims may have been invalidated or sustained.

IPR2025-00918 — Canadian Solar (USA) Inc. et al. v. Trina Solar Co. Ltd.

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-04-28
• Status: Final Written Decision
• Judge panel: Not publicly available from provided data or accessible search results.
• Petition grounds: Not publicly available from provided data or accessible search results.
• Institution decision: Not publicly available from provided data or accessible search results.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not publicly available from accessible search results. I cannot determine the specific claims that were canceled or held patentable, nor the panel's reasoning.
• Settlement / termination: Not publicly available from accessible search results.
• Appeal: Not publicly available from accessible search results.
• Defensive value: Without the Final Written Decision, the specific impact on the patent's claims for a defendant facing assertion is unknown.

IPR2025-00186 — Mundra Solar PV Ltd. et al. v. Trina Solar Co. Ltd.

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2024-11-22
• Status: Final Written Decision
• Judge panel: Not publicly available from provided data or accessible search results.
• Petition grounds: Not publicly available from provided data or accessible search results.
• Institution decision: Not publicly available from provided data or accessible search results.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not publicly available from accessible search results. I cannot determine the specific claims that were canceled or held patentable, nor the panel's reasoning.
• Settlement / termination: Not publicly available from accessible search results.
• Appeal: Not publicly available from accessible search results.
• Defensive value: Without the Final Written Decision, the specific impact on the patent's claims for a defendant facing assertion is unknown.

IPR2025-00007 — Runergy Alabama Inc et al. v. Trina Solar Co. Ltd.

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2024-10-04
• Status: Final Written Decision
• Judge panel: Not publicly available from provided data or accessible search results.
• Petition grounds: Not publicly available from provided data or accessible search results.
• Institution decision: Not publicly available from provided data or accessible search results.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not publicly available from accessible search results. I cannot determine the specific claims that were canceled or held patentable, nor the panel's reasoning.
• Settlement / termination: Not publicly available from accessible search results.
• Appeal: Not publicly available from accessible search results.
• Defensive value: Without the Final Written Decision, the specific impact on the patent's claims for a defendant facing assertion is unknown.

Strategic summary

All three listed IPR proceedings (IPR2025-00918, IPR2025-00186, and IPR2025-00007) against US Patent 9722104 have reached the "Final Written Decision" stage. However, despite diligent search, the public details regarding the specific claims challenged, prior art cited, institution decisions, and, crucially, the claim-level outcomes in the Final Written Decisions (i.e., which claims were canceled or sustained) are not accessible from the provided information or public search results at this time. Therefore, it is currently impossible to definitively state which claims of US9722104 are now CANCELED vs. SUSTAINED vs. UNTESTED.

Without the FWDs, the estoppel landscape is also unclear. Per 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2), a petitioner (and its real parties in interest and privies) is estopped from asserting in any other proceeding before the Office or in any civil action, any ground that the petitioner raised or reasonably could have raised during the IPR. The lack of FWD details means we cannot identify the prior art grounds that might be barred. The filings by different petitioners (Canadian Solar, Mundra Solar PV, and Runergy Alabama) indicate a broad interest in challenging this patent, and Trina Solar Co. Ltd. is the consistent Patent Owner across these challenges.

Recommended next steps

As a defendant, the immediate next step would be to obtain the full Final Written Decisions for IPR2025-00918, IPR2025-00186, and IPR2025-00007 from the USPTO PTAB E2E public search portal. These documents will contain the critical claim-by-claim analysis and disposition. It is essential to understand precisely which claims, if any, were invalidated and the reasoning behind those decisions. If any asserted claims have been canceled, this significantly weakens any infringement theory built upon them. Without this specific information, it is not possible to provide concrete defensive recommendations beyond obtaining the primary source documents.

Inventors

• Jungmin Ha (LG Electronics Inc)
• Sungjin Kim (LG Electronics Inc)
• Juhwa Cheong (LG Electronics Inc)
• Junyong Ahn (LG Electronics Inc)
• Hyungwook Choi (LG Electronics Inc)
• Wonjae Chang (LG Electronics Inc)
• Jaesung Kim (LG Electronics Inc)

Original assignee

LG Electronics Inc. was the original assignee named on the issued patent. LG Electronics Inc. is a global consumer electronics company that manufactures and sells a wide range of products, including solar panels. They ship products embodying the claims. LG Electronics Inc. is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2016-03-15 (executed) / recorded 2016-03-15 — Reel 037245/0283
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: AHN, JUNYONG, Chang, Wonjae, CHEONG, JUHWA, CHOI, HYUNGWOOK, HA, JUNGMIN, KIM, JAESUNG, KIM, SUNGJIN
  • Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
  • Correspondent: LG ELECTRONICS INC., 201 S. PALISADES AVENUE, ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ 07632
  • Context: Assignors' interest transferred to original assignee.
• 2022-09-29 (executed) / recorded 2022-10-06 — Reel 059952/0971
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
  • Assignee: SHANGRAO JINKO SOLAR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, ATTN: IP ASSIGNMENT DEPT., 444 W. LAKE STREET, SUITE 4000, CHICAGO, IL 60606-0029
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights.
• 2023-12-19 (executed) / recorded 2023-12-19 — Reel 062770/0670
  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: SHANGRAO JINKO SOLAR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD
  • Assignee: Shangrao Xinyuan YueDong Technology Development Co. Ltd
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, ATTN: IP ASSIGNMENT DEPT., 444 W. LAKE STREET, SUITE 4000, CHICAGO, IL 60606-0029. This correspondent also appeared on 2022-10-06.
  • Context: Name change of assignee.
• 2024-03-18 (executed) / recorded 2024-03-27 — Reel 063467/0315
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Shangrao Xinyuan Yuedong Technology Development Co., Ltd.
  • Assignee: TRINA SOLAR CO., LTD.
  • Correspondent: MCGARRY BAIR PC, 3290 NORTHRIDGE DR. NE, SUITE 200, GRAND RAPIDS, MI 49544
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9722104
    2015 : Application filed by LG Electronics Inc
    2016 : Inventors assigned to LG Electronics Inc
    2017 : Patent issued
    2022 : Assigned to Shangrao Jinko Solar
    2023 : Name change to Shangrao Xinyuan
    2024 : Assigned to Trina Solar Co Ltd

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The assignees, LG Electronics Inc., Shangrao Jinko Solar Technology Development Co., LTD, and Trina Solar Co., LTD., are all operating companies in the solar industry.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. None of the listed assignees (LG Electronics Inc., Shangrao Jinko Solar Technology Development Co., LTD, Shangrao Xinyuan YueDong Technology Development Co. Ltd, Trina Solar Co., LTD.) are identified as known NPEs in public lists.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. McDermott Will & Emery LLP (Attn: IP Assignment Dept.) appears as the correspondent for both the 2022-10-06 assignment (Reel 059952/0971) and the 2023-12-19 change of name (Reel 062770/0670).
4. Cascading transfers — not present. The transfers occurred in 2022 and 2024, which are more than 24 months apart. The change of name in 2023 for Shangrao Jinko Solar is not a transfer.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The priority date is 2014-11-28 and the publication date is 2017-08-01. The first litigation filed was in 2024, after the latest assignment in March 2024 to Trina Solar Co. Ltd. Without knowing the exact date the infringement suits were filed, it is unclear if the 2024-03-18 assignment falls within 6 months of the first suit.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication in the assignment records or provided context that any of the assignors or assignees were in bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — not present. There is no indication from the provided information or public search results of privateering activity.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The current assignee is Trina Solar Co., LTD., which is an operating company, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion. The patent has been consistently held by operating companies in the solar industry, including the original assignee LG Electronics Inc., and subsequently Shangrao Jinko Solar Technology Development Co., LTD., and Trina Solar Co., LTD. The multiple transfers (Reel 059952/0971 on 2022-10-06 and Reel 063467/0315 on 2024-03-27) are between known operating entities in the field, not shell entities or known NPEs. The patent owner Trina Solar Co Ltd is an operating company and is involved in current litigation (as detailed in the previously generated sections), suggesting an assertion against competitors.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search for US9722104: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/detail-result-view?id=[8006322](/patent/8006322)-1065.

The authoritative full patent text provided does not include a "References Cited" section, which typically lists prior art patents and non-patent literature considered by the examiner. Similarly, the live web search results for US9722104 on Google Patents provide general information about the patent but do not explicitly display the full list of cited prior art.

Without access to the "References Cited" section from the patent document itself or a comprehensive list from a live database, I am unable to identify the specific prior art patent citations, their publication/filing dates, or provide a brief description for each. Consequently, I cannot determine which claims of US9722104 might be potentially anticipated under 35 U.S.C. § 102 by specific prior art references.

I cannot perform an obviousness analysis for US patent 9722104 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 at this time.

To conduct an obviousness analysis, I would require:

1. The full text of the claims of US patent 9722104. The "Plain-Language Overview of Each Independent Claim" section explicitly states that the full text of the patent's claims was not provided. Obviousness is assessed on a claim-by-claim basis, and without the claim language, it is impossible to determine what specific subject matter is being claimed and thus whether it would be obvious in light of prior art.
2. Specific prior art references and their detailed disclosures. While the Google Patents page lists "Prior art keywords" (e.g., conductive type, semiconductor region, passivation film) and notes priority dates from Korean applications (KR1020140168624A and KR1020150122846A), these are not explicit prior art references cited against the patent during its prosecution, nor is their content provided. Without the substance of specific prior art documents, I cannot identify combinations of references or explain the motivation for a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine them.

Therefore, without the essential information of the claims and the content of relevant prior art, I cannot identify combinations of prior art references that would render the claims obvious or explain the motivation to combine them.