Samsung Sues Chinese Rival BOE Technology Over iPhone Display Patents

Samsung Display of South Korea has sued BOE Technology, accusing the Chinese competitor of infringing on five of its patents for screens used in mobile devices including Apple’s iPhone 12.

Samsung Display, a division of Samsung Electronics, has urged a federal jury in Texas to award damages for infringement of BOE’s patents on organic light emitting diode (OLED) screens. Samsung also requests a court injunction to prevent the import and sale of the concerned displays.

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, which has a reputation for expediting hearings and rulings.

Apple has begun adopting OLED panels in some of its Apple Watch and iPhone models, including the current iPhone 14. According to Apple, OLED displays have a higher resolution and can be slimmer than regular displays.

According to market analyst Omdia, Samsung Display dominates the OLED display market, with BOE closing the distance, overtaking South Korea’s LG Display as the No. 2 player last year.

“Samsung Display has suffered and will continue to suffer, irreparable harm as a result of Defendants’ infringement of the ‘599 Patent,’ for which there is no adequate remedy at law unless Defendants’ infringement is enjoined by this Court”, the lawsuit states, referring to the 599 patent, which improves device image quality.

Samsung Display filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission in December, alleging patent infringement by a number of companies selling OLED screens as replacement displays for mobile devices, prompting the agency to launch an investigation.

Requests for a response from Samsung and Apple were not immediately returned.

South Korea is a manufacturing powerhouse for everything from chips and displays to automobiles, but Chinese competitors have been posing a growing threat to South Korean firms.

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