--- title: "First Solar sues JA Solar and Corning's Phoenix plant over a patent China's patent office invalidated" description: "JA Solar and the Corning subsidiary running a 2 GW assembly plant in Phoenix are the latest targets of a patent that runs to 2030. Truist sees the stock, down 32% this year, at $270." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Energy" published: 2026-10-16T01:29:40.984Z modified: 2026-10-16T01:29:40.984Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/first-solar-sues-ja-solar-and-corning-s-phoenix-plant-over-a-patent-china-s-patent-office-invalidated language: en keywords: "First Solar, JA Solar, Corning, Patents, Litigation, Solar" --- # First Solar sues JA Solar and Corning's Phoenix plant over a patent China's patent office invalidated > JA Solar and the Corning subsidiary running a 2 GW assembly plant in Phoenix are the latest targets of a patent that runs to 2030. Truist sees the stock, down 32% this year, at $270. ## The fourth suit drags Corning into the docket On October 1, [First Solar](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/first-solar), America's leading solar manufacturer, [sued four JA Solar entities and American Panel Solutions in the US District Court for the District of Delaware over US Patent 9,130,074](https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/first-solar-files-patent-infringement-204400794.html), which covers how tunnel oxide passivated contact, or TOPCon, crystalline-silicon cells are made; the design is rapidly displacing the older PERC architecture across global supply chains [1][2]. American Panel Solutions, a wholly owned unit of the glass and materials group Corning, runs [the 2 GW module plant in Phoenix that Corning bought from JA Solar in July 2025](https://electrek.co/2025/07/21/corning-ja-solar-us-factory-chinese-parts-tax-credit-ban/) as tax-credit rules squeezed Chinese-owned US factories [1][3]. First Solar seeks damages and a permanent injunction halting the import, assembly and sale of the accused modules [1][4]. JA Solar and American Panel Solutions are the fourth maker group named since February 2025, after JinkoSolar, Canadian Solar and Trina Solar [1]. A February 2026 petition at the US International Trade Commission, which can bar imports, named ten respondent groups from Axitec to VSUN; [First Solar withdrew it in September in favor of district courts](https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2026/10/05/first-solar-sues-ja-solar-and-american-panel-solutions-over-topcon-patents/), and its enforcement has also reached T1 Energy, buyer of Trina's Texas plant [1][4]. ## The plaintiff does not make the product it is suing over First Solar builds thin-film cadmium telluride modules in the United States, not the crystalline-silicon cells that displaced them [2][5]. The patent arrived with TetraSun, a cell-technology startup First Solar bought in 2013, and holds through 2030 and beyond, so each suit is a claim on the rival architecture's American sales for the rest of the decade [1][2]. The foundation is contested. In May 2026, China's patent office [invalidated every claim of the '074 patent on a JinkoSolar challenge](https://gcn.com/topcon-patent-first-solar-sues-solar/22271/), and JinkoSolar and Canadian Solar seek the same outcome in a US reexamination [1]. The US Patent Trial and Appeal Board, for its part, declined JinkoSolar's inter partes review petition, a validity challenge, on November 20, 2025 [1]. ## The bull case and the patent share one decade [Truist](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/truist-financial) analyst Christopher Souther [upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold on October 12 with a $270 target](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/12/fslr-has-lost-one-third-of-its-value-truist-sees-a-comeback.html), up from $229, citing pricing supported into the 2030s and a 44-cent-a-watt Section 232 import floor on foreign silicon modules from early December [5][6]. Series 7, First Solar's current module line, is sold out through 2028, so the payoff sits in late-decade bookings [5][6]. The underlying business is not the worry: gross margin hit a 12-quarter high of 57.3% in the second quarter [7]. A 4% rally on October 13 took the shares to $186.21, still down 29% for the year after a slide of roughly 32%, and Truist's case rests on tariffs and order books, not the litigation [5][6]. [Morgan Stanley](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/morgan-stanley) flagged higher rates as a valuation risk the next day, when the stock fell 4.01% [8]. On October 15, Citadel entities tied to Ken Griffin [disclosed 5,409,576 shares, 5.0% of the 107,469,788 outstanding, in a Schedule 13G](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1274494/000110465926115968/0001104659-26-115968-index.htm) certified ordinary-course and passive [9]. *Chart: **Truist's new target sits 45% above the current price** Column chart comparing First Solar's October 13 share price of $186.21 with Truist's old $229 and new $270 price targets.* *First Solar share price on October 13, 2026, against Truist's price targets before and after the October 12 upgrade. Sources: 24/7 Wall St, CNBC, October 2026. [5][6]* *Chart: **Gross margin hit a 12-quarter high as the suits stacked up** Line chart of First Solar's quarterly gross margin from Q3 2023 to Q2 2026, falling to 37.5% in Q4 2024 and climbing to a 12-quarter high of 57.3% in Q2 2026, with the first and fourth TOPCon suit filings marked.* *Quarterly gross margin, percent of revenue, Q3 2023 through Q2 2026, from First Solar's SEC filings; the first and fourth TOPCon suit filings marked. [1][7]* A Delaware injunction would reach the Phoenix plant's assembly and sales; a US invalidation would end the damages-and-licensing claim through 2030 [1]. Watch the reexamination docket: the patent runs to 2030, and the challenge that could end it is already under way. ## Takeaway The fourth TOPCon suit reaches Corning's Phoenix plant, but the patent behind it was invalidated in China and faces US reexamination; Truist's $270 call rests on tariffs and order books, not the docket. ## Sources 1. [GCN, First Solar sues JA Solar, Corning unit over TOPCon patent, October 2026](https://gcn.com/topcon-patent-first-solar-sues-solar/22271/) 2. [Business Wire via Yahoo Finance, First Solar Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against JA Solar & American Panel Solutions, 1 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/first-solar-files-patent-infringement-204400794.html) 3. [Electrek, Corning snaps up JA Solar's US factory as Chinese parts face tax credit ban, 21 July 2025](https://electrek.co/2025/07/21/corning-ja-solar-us-factory-chinese-parts-tax-credit-ban/) 4. [pv magazine USA, First Solar sues JA Solar and American Panel Solutions over TOPCon patents, 5 October 2026](https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2026/10/05/first-solar-sues-ja-solar-and-american-panel-solutions-over-topcon-patents/) 5. [24/7 Wall St, First Solar Climbs 4% as Truist Buy Call and December Tariff Floor Reset Panel Pricing Outlook, 13 October 2026](https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/10/13/first-solar-climbs-4-as-truist-buy-call-and-december-tariff-floor-reset-panel-pricing-outlook-enphase-energy-and-sunrun-hold-flat/) 6. [CNBC, This struggling solar stock has lost one-third of its value this year. Truist sees a comeback, 12 October 2026](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/12/fslr-has-lost-one-third-of-its-value-truist-sees-a-comeback.html) 7. [First Solar, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 15 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001274494) 8. [MT Newswires via Yahoo Finance, NextEra, First Solar, Enphase Among Clean Tech Firms Facing Q3 Valuation Impact on Higher Rates, Morgan Stanley Says, 14 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/nextera-first-solar-enphase-among-150305107.html) 9. [SEC EDGAR, Schedule 13G, First Solar Inc., Citadel Securities entities and Kenneth Griffin, filed 15 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1274494/000110465926115968/0001104659-26-115968-index.htm) --- First Solar sues JA Solar and Corning's Phoenix plant over a patent China's patent office invalidated — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/first-solar-sues-ja-solar-and-corning-s-phoenix-plant-over-a-patent-china-s-patent-office-invalidated