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To: jbkelle who wrote (5540)	8/24/2001 12:37:25 AM
From: Don Green	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10712

ANALYSIS: Ex-Employee Sues Nichia Over Blue LED Research Friday, August 24, 2001 TOKYO (Nikkei)--Shuji Nakamura, a professor at the University of California Santa Barbara and developer of a blue light-emitting diode (LED), filed a suit in the Tokyo District Court on Aug. 23 against Nichia Corp., his former employer. Nakamura is demanding his old firm fairly compensate him, including a 2 billion yen payment, for the patent the company obtained on the blue LED he developed while working there. He is also seeking rights to one-thousandth of the patent for the basic production method for the LED that he created. "Japan became an economic giant thanks to manufacturers and their engineers, but Japanese engineers are treated very poorly," Nakamura said. "Some Japanese companies have begun paying engineers bonuses of 10 million yen, but that's almost nothing compared to compensation levels in the U.S. I filed the suit to improve the treatment of the engineers who sustain Japan. They will benefit if I win." Nakamura developed the world's first blue LED, a basic technology that led to the creation of the white LED as a replacement for phosphorescent light and the development of semiconductor lasers allowing large memory storage. Nichia commercialized the technology in 1993. Nakamura left the firm in 1999 after 20 years of service to take up his current post. "I wasn't considering a lawsuit when I left Nichia, but I changed my mind because of the horrible things they did to me later," he said. Nichia sued Nakamura in a U.S. court in December 2000, fearing he would disclose corporate secrets to competitors. Nakamura's suit will influence the battle for patents over blue LED technology, a matter of great import to Nichia, who is involved in several patent disputes. "On my departure, Nichia asked me to sign a confidentiality agreement," Nakamura said. "I refused because a lawyer at my university advised me not to, as it could deprive me of my academic freedom. Then Nichia sued me and the university in retaliation. "Nichia hired a U.S. company to spy on the campus looking for the source of my research funding. I learned about this when a colleague reported an incident to the lawyer for my research school. My frustration built up because the Nichia suit took so much time away from my teaching, and I decided to sue them in return." Nakamura recently became director of the Center for Solid State Lighting and Displays, established on the university campus and funded by Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. (4010), U.S. blue LED maker Cree Inc. and others. His future research, which is attracting attention, could be affected by the suit. "I'll continue research on a blue LED that uses nitrogen gallium. It's an important job for a university professor here to get research funds. Many companies are interested in funding my research on nitrogen gallium," Nakamura said. "I want to start an entirely new line of research four or five years from now because the basic research on the LED is complete, although its applications continue to expand. My new research theme will not be limited to light; it's a blank slate. My current priority is getting used to my life in the U.S. and raising funds for the school." --interviewed by Noriko Kageki, Nikkei staff writer. (The Nikkei Business Daily Friday edition)