PFO Lighting/Solaris Out of Business
- Thread starter fishrich
- Start date
stimpy4242
Member
Yeah, I consider myself very very lucky!!! I just sent my unit in for warranty work towards end of december...they returned it with everything fixed all new bulbs...however I think one of the power supplies was bad and they said they were waiting to get some in, it seems in timer mode, one half of the light does not come on...however in solar mode it seems to work ok...so I guess I am lucky to have had it replaced just before they folded...it would at least be nice for them to post where we can buy the power supplies...
fishrich
Member
Yeah it was over the led patent. I forget the name of the company but they are pretty big and they have numerous military contracts,etc. They sued pfo and I guess the legal fees got to be to much... I doubt we'll ever be able to get replacement power supplies from their supplier but who knows
culp
Active Member
i copied and pasted this from a different forum.
Well we started hearing murmurs of trouble brewing at PFO and our investigation has revealed some startling news which will affect the future of all LEDs for aquarium use. The story all began when we were informed that PFO Lighting, one of the leading innovators and manufacturers of aquarium lighting, laid off their entire staff. Why would a thriving company with innovative products such as the Solaris be forced to do such a thing? Because they are being sued by patent trolls who have nothing to do with our industry! Please read on to learn more about how this lawsuit is damaging innovation in the industry and how it could lead to a complete absence of LED technology in the aquarium hobby.
Update: You can look over the entire lawsuit here and the patent here.
This gloomy situation all began with a patent lawsuit which was filed by the Orbital Technologies Corporation, also known as Orbitec. For some unknown reason, this primarily aerospace research and development company with over $150 Million in industry and government contracts decided to patent the use of LEDs for Marine aquariums, well after the people began to use LEDs for marine tanks and well after PFO began shipping the Solaris luminaire. Once they were awarded the really broad and obviously bogus patent, Orbitec filed a lawsuit against the most obvious aquarium LED manufacturer PFO. PFO tried to reason with the corporation, even offering to sell the lighting division to Orbitec. The suits at orbitec made it clear that they had no intention of operating in the aquarium industry and they demanded 25% royalties on all LED products sold.
With over $150 Million in contracts, what do they care about squeezing out a few grand from the aquarium industry? Well the path of least resistance is what makes a river crooked; Orbitec couldnt care any less about the industry they are disrupting and the American companies and jobs they are shuttering. As if things weren’t bad enough in this economy, the target of this lawsuit is not some far away Chinese knock off company, it’s a domestic manufacturer which uses nearly all American labor and parts.
Furthermore, the implication of this lawsuit will affect all light fixtures which use LEDs, that means Current, Aqua Illuminators, AquaFX and even all the little moonlight makers could be next on the chopping block. PFO has tried and failed to convince some of these manufacturers that this lawsuit is in the mutual interest of many parties, should Orbitec win this lawsuit, they could singlehandedly halt the production of LED fixtures in the aquarium industry for good.
The impending lawsuit scheduled for this month has already stymied aquarium lighting innovation. We know of several LED fixtures which some of these companies have ready for release but they are withholding from the market until the outcome of the Wisonsin based lawsuit. With PFO’s lawyer fees well over 6 digits and climbing, it’s clear that Orbitec and it’s army of legal suits are bleeding PFO of capital until they probably cannot fight the lawsuit anymore.
Editor’s Note: I regret making such an empassioned post and I have edited some of my comments to be more appropriate.
Well we started hearing murmurs of trouble brewing at PFO and our investigation has revealed some startling news which will affect the future of all LEDs for aquarium use. The story all began when we were informed that PFO Lighting, one of the leading innovators and manufacturers of aquarium lighting, laid off their entire staff. Why would a thriving company with innovative products such as the Solaris be forced to do such a thing? Because they are being sued by patent trolls who have nothing to do with our industry! Please read on to learn more about how this lawsuit is damaging innovation in the industry and how it could lead to a complete absence of LED technology in the aquarium hobby.
Update: You can look over the entire lawsuit here and the patent here.
This gloomy situation all began with a patent lawsuit which was filed by the Orbital Technologies Corporation, also known as Orbitec. For some unknown reason, this primarily aerospace research and development company with over $150 Million in industry and government contracts decided to patent the use of LEDs for Marine aquariums, well after the people began to use LEDs for marine tanks and well after PFO began shipping the Solaris luminaire. Once they were awarded the really broad and obviously bogus patent, Orbitec filed a lawsuit against the most obvious aquarium LED manufacturer PFO. PFO tried to reason with the corporation, even offering to sell the lighting division to Orbitec. The suits at orbitec made it clear that they had no intention of operating in the aquarium industry and they demanded 25% royalties on all LED products sold.
With over $150 Million in contracts, what do they care about squeezing out a few grand from the aquarium industry? Well the path of least resistance is what makes a river crooked; Orbitec couldnt care any less about the industry they are disrupting and the American companies and jobs they are shuttering. As if things weren’t bad enough in this economy, the target of this lawsuit is not some far away Chinese knock off company, it’s a domestic manufacturer which uses nearly all American labor and parts.
Furthermore, the implication of this lawsuit will affect all light fixtures which use LEDs, that means Current, Aqua Illuminators, AquaFX and even all the little moonlight makers could be next on the chopping block. PFO has tried and failed to convince some of these manufacturers that this lawsuit is in the mutual interest of many parties, should Orbitec win this lawsuit, they could singlehandedly halt the production of LED fixtures in the aquarium industry for good.
The impending lawsuit scheduled for this month has already stymied aquarium lighting innovation. We know of several LED fixtures which some of these companies have ready for release but they are withholding from the market until the outcome of the Wisonsin based lawsuit. With PFO’s lawyer fees well over 6 digits and climbing, it’s clear that Orbitec and it’s army of legal suits are bleeding PFO of capital until they probably cannot fight the lawsuit anymore.
Editor’s Note: I regret making such an empassioned post and I have edited some of my comments to be more appropriate.
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by FishRich
http:///forum/post/2960170
Yeah it was over the led patent. I forget the name of the company but they are pretty big and they have numerous military contracts,etc. They sued pfo and I guess the legal fees got to be to much... I doubt we'll ever be able to get replacement power supplies from their supplier but who knows
Maybe I should go into business repairing solaris fixtures for people?
http:///forum/post/2960170
Yeah it was over the led patent. I forget the name of the company but they are pretty big and they have numerous military contracts,etc. They sued pfo and I guess the legal fees got to be to much... I doubt we'll ever be able to get replacement power supplies from their supplier but who knows
Maybe I should go into business repairing solaris fixtures for people?
turningtim
Active Member
OF course its the big bad corporation! Please! Have any idea what it costs for a patent in time and money. Sounds to me like Orbitec was pretty smart. If PFO would have done the slightest amount of their due diligence they would have known about the patent. Most companies get pretty upset about these after the fact infringement cases.
stimpy4242
Member
Nah, PFO wouldn't have been able to get a patent, because they would have had to prove their system actually worked without having so many warranty issues!!! haha