‘Edison’ Bulb Battle Heats Up With University Targeting GE, Ikea

The University of California is ramping up efforts to obtain patent royalties on popular vintage-style LED light bulbs from companies including General Electric Co. and Home Depot Inc., threatening them with a product import ban if they don’t pay up.

The dispute is over bulbs designed to imitate the iconic look of ones developed by GE founder Thomas A. Edison, inventor of the first mass-marketed incandescent bulb.

The University of California Santa Barbara filed a patent-infringement complaint at the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, naming GE and the new owner of its lighting business, Savant Systems Inc. ...