Nextracker Settles Patent Lawsuit With Solar FlexRack, Wins Royalties

Settlement Grants Royalties to Nextracker for Patents Covering its NX Horizon™ Smart Solar Tracker Design

Nextracker™, a Flex company, announced today that it has settled its patent infringement lawsuit against Northern States Metals Company, which conducts its solar energy business under the name Solar FlexRack. Nextracker. The suit had been filed in June 2020, in a court at Delaware.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement Solar FlexRack will pay Nextracker royalties on qualifying sales revenue of Solar FlexRack’s TDP 2.0 solar tracker and certain related products, services and components. Other terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

“Nextracker treats its intellectual property very seriously, and we will vigorously defend our patent rights in all global markets in which we conduct business,” said Dan Shugar, Nextracker CEO. “We are pleased to reach an acceptable resolution to this litigation and look forward to our new commercial relationship with Solar FlexRack.”

 Nextracker Inc is a leader in the intelligent solar tracker and control software solutions segment for solar power plants.

Patent infringement lawsuits have become increasingly common in the solar sector, as firms seek to build competitive advantages with every incremental improvement in technology and processes. With the stakes much higher now in the multi billion dollar industry, it has meant that the volume of lawsuits also goes up, and settling disputes amicably is also not as easy anymore.