Nanoco Technologies (LON: NANO) is a small UK-based company and a pioneer and world leader in the development and manufacturing of cadmium-free quantum dots and other specific nanomaterials. Nanoco’s CFQD® quantum dots are free of cadmium and other toxic heavy metals and can be tuned to emit light at different wavelengths across the visible and infrared spectrum, rendering them useful for a wide range of applications including displays, like televisions and monitors, lighting, and biological imaging.
In early 2020, Nanoco Technologies approached GLS Capital to finance its ongoing litigation. They claimed that Samsung’s QLED televisions were allegedly infringing on several fundamental Nanoco patents related to the synthesis and use of quantum dots. The challenge that Nanoco faced was that with their annual reported revenues of less than £5 million[i], they had no viable way to rightfully enforce its patents against a much larger adversary, especially when conservative estimates put litigating these cases between $6-$10 million[ii].
Nanoco approached a group of litigation funders and, after a competitive process, selected GLS Capital to finance their case. Nanoco CEO Brian Tenner stated, “We chose GLS Capital because of their reputation not only as intellectual property subject-matter experts but also as reliable and trustworthy partners.”
GLS financed Nanoco in the Nanoco Technologies, Ltd. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd et al. litigation in U.S. District Court, related proceedings in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as patent litigation brought by Nanoco against Samsung in Germany and China. The Nanoco v. Samsung dispute also included the successful defense of five Inter Partes Review petitions in the USPTO, in which all challenged patent claims were upheld by the US Patent Office.
On January 6, 2023, the day before trial was to begin in US District Court, Nanoco announced that a term sheet for settlement of the litigation had been agreed to. On February 3, 2023, terms were made public that Samsung agreed to pay Nanoco Technologies a $150 million settlement, which includes a license agreement and the transfer of certain patents.
The settlement was covered widely in the media and was called “transformative” by the CEO of Nanoco Technologies, and it ends all global litigation between the two companies, including in China and Germany, where additional lawsuits were filed.
At GLS, we were proud to support Nanoco in obtaining the recognition and compensation they deserve for their fundamental inventions.
Sources:
[i] Nanoco Technologies FY2022 Annual Report,
[ii] (Wild, 2023).
