Samsung Loses US Suit Filed By Sharp Over LCD Patents
10-Nov-09 01:37 am Samsung just lost to Sharp over patent infringements.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1beb071e-cdad-...http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-2009...By Jung-Ah Lee
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
SEOUL (Dow Jones)--Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE), the world's biggest supplier of liquid crystal display panels by sales, has lost a patent infringement case involving liquid crystal displays that was brought by Sharp Corp. (6753.TO) in the U.S.
The U.S. International Trade Commission Monday ruled that Samsung had infringed on four patents of Sharp Corp. relating to LCDs and said the South Korean company should stop selling devices in the U.S. that trespassed on the patents.
The commission's ruling will be delivered to U.S. President Barack Obama and to the United States Trade Representative for review and Samsung is required to deposit a bond equivalent to the value of the infringing products should it continue to import them during the presidential review.
Sharp welcomed the ruling.
"We believe that the ITC's ruling has made it clear that ITC has consistently supported Sharp's claim that LCD products of Samsung violated Sharp's patents," a Sharp spokeswoman said.
In 2008, Sharp filed the suit against Samsung with the ITC, alleging Samsung infringed four of its patents related to a technology to improve the picture quality of LCDs.
Patent infringement lawsuits are common in the highly competitive flat-panel display industry, and over the past few years several LCD makers have been fighting to protect their patents in the courtroom.
The South Korean electronics giant said it expects no major impact on its business from the U.S. trade commission's ruling.
There will be "no impact on our business and our ability to meet market demand," said Samsung in a statement.
"We are fully committed to honoring our responsibility to our business partners and are taking appropriate actions to meet the market demand for Samsung LCD panels and products without any interruption," it added.
Samsung also said it has no plans so far to negotiate with Sharp on the issue, including cross-license pacts.
Analysts also expect the news to have little impact on Samsung.
"Samsung has been selling other products that avoid Sharp's patents from September, so even if it is banned from exporting (the LCDs that allegedly used Sharp patents to the U.S.), no impact either on Samsung's business or its earnings is expected at all," said Y.J Park, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities.
At 0334 GMT, Samsung shares were up 0.8% at KRW730,000, while the broader market was up 0.7%.
-By Jung-Ah Lee, Dow Jones Newswires; 822-2198-2233; jung-ah.lee@dowjones.com
(Yuzo Yamaguchi in Tokyo also contributed to the story)