Rear liftgate window assembly with integrated lighting

A rear liftgate window assembly for a vehicle, said rear liftgate window assembly comprising:

• a glass window panel comprising an upper region and a lower region and an inner surface, and wherein said glass window panel has an opaque non-light-transmitting layer disposed at a portion thereof;
• hinge elements disposed at said upper region of said glass window panel and configured to pivotally attach at an upper rear portion of a vehicle to mount said rear liftgate window assembly at the vehicle such that said glass window panel is pivotable between a closed position, where said glass window panel is disposed at a rear opening of the vehicle, and an opened position, where said glass window panel is raised to a generally horizontal orientation;
• a lighting device disposed at said inner surface of said glass window panel, said lighting device comprising (i) a light source adhesively attached at said inner surface of said glass window panel, (ii) electrical connectors disposed at or near said upper region of said glass window panel, and (iii) electrically conductive traces established between said light sources and said electrical connectors;
• wherein at least one of (i) said light source is disposed at said opaque non-light-transmitting layer, (ii) said electrical connectors are disposed at said opaque non-light-transmitting layer, and (iii) said electrically conductive traces are disposed at said opaque non-light-transmitting layer;
• wherein said electrical connectors are configured to electrically connect to a power source of the vehicle when said rear liftgate window assembly is mounted at the vehicle;
• and
• wherein, when said glass window panel is in its opened position, said at least one light source is operable to emit light to illuminate an area generally at the rear of the vehicle and rearward of the vehicle.