Date: December 27, 2007
Source: Maeil Business Newspaper

The leading companies in the global LCD industry -- Samsung Electronics and Sharp -- are in legal dispute over LCD technology and accusing each other of patent infringement.

According to foreign news reports and sources within Samsung Electronics, Samsung Electronics recently filed a lawsuit against Sharp at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) for patent infringement.

Samsung Electronics had also filed another lawsuit against Sharp at the U.S. Federal Court in Wilmington, Delaware, regarding patent infringement. Also in November, the company had filed a complaint against Sharp in Texas regarding five LCD patents.

In this lawsuit, Samsung Electronics asserted that Sharp had infringed four patents on SE’s LCD module structure.

In the complaint filed at the ITC, Samsung Electronics asserted that Sharp’s LCD modules that are sold in the U.S. and products such as TVs, LCD monitors and mobile phones, which have LCD modules, are using Samsung Electronics’ patent and requested for restriction on the sales of such products in the U.S.

Samsung explained that the patent in dispute regards a technology which enables enhancement in LCD manufacturing competitiveness and LCD performance and efficiency via simplification of panel structure