One Correction: Matsushita IS Panasonic....
They are one and the same. Panasonic used to be called Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd from 1935 to October 1, 2008 when it changed its name to Panasonic.
The point is, Panasonic patented this 3D Cell and couldn't do anything useful with it. Which is why I'm sure they have such a keen interest in the accomplishments of Solar3D in turning that 3D Cell into a game changing solar panel with 25%+ efficiency and twice the total power output of conventional panels.
Now even though Panasonic has the patent for the 3D Cell, we know that the Solar Cell is simply one component or element of a Photovoltaic (PV) Module. And PV Modules are one component of the whole Solar Panel.
What I'm getting at is Solar3D could possibly get "Inventive Step" status for a patent by getting a patent for the whole combination unit (Solar Panel) itself, and not just for the individual 3D Cell which is just an element of the Whole unit. Or they could also patent the method for making their 25%+ efficiency 2X power output Solar Panel units.
The bottom line is Solar3D, namely the scientists Changwan Son and Nadir Dagli, have figured out a way to turn the 3D Cell concept into a Whole Solar Panel Unit which has the best efficiency and power output in the world. Panasonic has had the f**king 3D Cell patent since 2003 and hasn't been able to do sh*t with it. Thus, Solar3D has clearly developed an innovation which nobody else, including big bad Panasonic, has been able to.
And because of that, Solar3D has many many options with or without a patent. I am hopeful though that the Solar3D team was able over the last year to make whatever changes need to be made to the cell itself or to the whole Solar Panel unit which would give it unique "Inventive Step" status. But either way, Solar3D is in great shape because of SunWorks and the fact that they can start sreamlining their lower cost, higher output panels into the SunWorks business model directly which means one way or another SunWorks revenue and profit margin will continue to rise. And obviously we are on very friendly terms with Panasonic since they basically partnered with us on building our prototype product in 2012, and that's something I personally feel very good about.
There's so many ways Solar3D can play this, and there's so many ways Solar3D wins, with or without the patent.
