As we were informed at MACNA by PFO Lighting, there has been an ongoing patent war between PFO and Orbital Technologies on the application of LED lighting for aquariums. Orbitec has had no prior business interest in aquariums, in fact most of their work is around aerospace research–check out their website here. In the actual law [...]
As we were informed at MACNA by PFO Lighting, there has been an ongoing patent war between PFO and Orbital Technologies on the application of LED lighting for aquariums. Orbitec has had no prior business interest in aquariums, in fact most of their work is around aerospace research–check out their website here. In the actual law suit they describe themselves as “a recognized leader in designing LED lighting for use in biological research and promoting plant growth.”
Although unrelated to their line of work the Madison, WI based company obtained a patent on LEDs for aquariums. You can see the patent here. The patent is vague and encompassing, but there is hope and potentially a few loop holes for LEDs to make their way to aquariums.
The case is still pending, so I will not get into the actual patent issues here. The most important thing for aquarists and industry professionals to realize is the effect that this patent can have. More than PFO will harmed by this, nearly every LED aquarium manufacturer will be. A few companies, like CoralVue, have even developed LED systems and are playing the waiting game until the PFO v Orbital battle is finished.
Recently there has been some rumors passing around in regards to PFO Lighting. Unfortunately we were informed today by Jake Adams that the staff at PFO has been laid off. This is very said news, as PFO had some notable staff such as Joy Meadows the owner of Harbor Aquatics. (Harbor is no longer running, but I was fortunate enough to have them just a drive away from Chicago. I still do not believe I’ve seen a more impressive clam collection at any one store.) To top off this sad story, just this past September PFO started manufacturing the Solaris in the United States.
I wish I could say I am surprised, but sadly I am not. In addition to the rumors we were informed of the approximate monthly costs that PFO is incurring and this is not an inexpensive affair. We hope PFO will be able to overcome this.
LED lighting is undeniably the future, but Orbital Technology’s tactics may make it increasingly difficult for us to use this energy efficient technology.
If you’d like to read more on this, here is the court filing from April 17, 2008: Orbital v. PFO [PDF].
