UC Santa Barbara sues Amazon and IKEA over LED lighting

UC Santa Barbara has had enough of retailers selling its patented LED light bulb technology without authorization. This week, the university filed a lawsuit charging Amazon, IKEA, Walmart, Target and Bed Bath & Beyond with infringing its patents. According to Nixon Peabody, the law firm representing UC Santa Barbara, this is the "first-of-its-kind direct patent enforcement campaign against an entire industry." The dispute centers around filament LED light bulbs, sometimes called "Edison" or "vintage" LED bulbs because they resemble Edison's iconic glass bulbs with glowing filaments.