China’s BOE files patent lawsuits against Samsung

China’s BOE Technology has filed patent infringement lawsuits against Samsung Display Co., Samsung Display’s Chinese corporation and Samsung Electronics Co.'s operation in China.

China's leading display maker claims that the South Korean companies have used its technology without permission, industry sources said. Details of the technology weren’t known.

Eight lawsuits are pending and the trial is slated to begin on May 18 at a court in Chongqing, sources said.

Industry officials said BOE’s legal action against Samsung companies may be designed to contain the Korean display maker’s growth in China.

BOE’s action comes after Samsung Display in December filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC) against US parts wholesalers over their use of display parts and panels that the Korean display maker claimed infringed on its sophisticated OLED patents, including one on its Diamond Pixel technology.

Samsung requested the US tribunal to ban 17 companies, including MobileSentrix, Injured Gadget and DFW Cellphones & Parts, from importing such parts and panels that use its patented technology into the US.

Those companies were said to have supplied such panels, reportedly from China, to US repair shops to fix Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy smartphones and Apple Inc.’s iPhones.

The ITC kicked off an investigation into the case in early April, according to media reports.

FIERCE OLED COMPETITION

Choi Kwon-young, executive vice president of Samsung Display, said during the company’s earnings conference call with analysts in January that it found some products sold in the market were using parts and panels that infringed upon its Diamond Pixel technology.

 

Samsung Display is competing with BOE for the supply of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panels to global clients such as Apple.

OLED competition is intensifying as a greater number of smartphone manufacturers adopt such panels.

OLED is renowned for self-illuminating pixels that do not require backlighting. This enables the production of the lightweight, thin and flexible display products that appeal to high-end consumers.

Korea had been the display market leader for 17 years since 2004, but dropped to second place in 2021 as China rose to the top with a massive output of cheap LCD panels.

Write to Ye-Rin Choi at rambutan@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.