Context:
- In recent years, patent litigation in the photovoltaic (PV) industry, particularly among players that use TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact), an advanced type of solar cell technology, has escalated significantly. China’s JinkoSolar is among the players that were embroiled in major U.S. TOPCon patent infringement litigation (which it settled earlier this year: January 30, 2026 ip fray article), while its Chinese rivals Trina Solar and JA Solar are continuing their fights in the EU and U.S. courts, where they haven’t been as lucky (April 21, 2026 ip fray article).
- The Chinese government has now, for some time, been encouraging domestic players to monetize their IP through collective licensing efforts. The governments of Shanghai, Qingdao, Xiamen, Beijing, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Zhejiang, for example, have been offering subsidies to companies for the creation of local standard-essential patent (SEP) and non-SEP pools.
What’s new: Trina Solar, JA Solar, and JinkoSolar have now launched a patent pool that focuses on TOPCon cell and module technologies in mainland China (April 22, 2026 MIIT press release). It currently includes 54 Chinese patents and patent applications, some of which were obtained from an LG portfolio, and was established on April 21, 2026, under the guidance of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA).
Direct impact: With the context of increasing litigation among Chinese players in the PV industry, this pool could improve licensing efficiency by reducing transaction complexity and lowering negotiation frictions for the entire market. But given the PV market also involves major players outside of China, such as Canadian Solar and Singapore’s Maxeon, it will be interesting to see how it is received by the market.
Wider ramifications: One source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told ip fray that this is part of Chinese government plans to curb “involution”, making it more of a quasi-policy instrument aimed at facilitating cross-licensing and reducing litigation, and less of a royalty-driven licensing vehicle. The pool appears to be more “coordination-driven” than “revenue-focused”, another anonymous source told ip fray. “This aligns with broader regulatory efforts to curb excessive domestic competition and to support Chinese PV companies in expanding more effectively into international markets, including by mitigating IP-related risks abroad,” they added.
According to one of the two anonymous sources, China’s efforts to launch a pool in the PV industry have been in the works for well over a year. But it will be interesting to see how other major players in this industry react – as it appears to be closed to the domestic industry. Other companies involved in significant TOPCon-related patent infringement disputes include Canadian Solar (January 16, 2026 ip fray article) and Maxeon (December 16, 2025 ip fray article).
Chinese patent pools on the global stage
In a recent interview with Huawei’s Strategic Planning & Key Projects Department, Emil Zhang, we pointed to a report on the government promoting a patent pool titled the “China All-Solid-State Battery Collaborative Innovation Platform” involving major companies such as CATL, BYD, and Chery Automobile (April 6, 2026 The CHOSUN Daily article), which he suggested may just be an alternative to providing solutions among various players and providing business certainties from a different angle.
That said, he noted at the time, the Chinese are not “outliers” to the international standards ecosystem, adding:
“So, if there are good Chinese administrators who can fulfil licensors and licensees’ needs or concerns, then why not have them do so?”
After all, the world’s four leading patent pool administrators (Access Advance, Avanci, Sisvel and Via Licensing Alliance) did not reach where they are overnight, but through proving themselves through successful licensing deals and addressing industry concerns while compensating licensors’ innovations year after year. “It all takes time,” Mr. Zhang had said, concluding with:
“I don’t think it will be a foreign versus Chinese entity issue. I think the question is more: who will be the most suitable entities to solve all the problems?”