Mahwah, N.J. — Sharp Corp. filed a lawsuit today alleging infringements of five of its patents on LCD-related technology by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung) and its U.S. subsidiaries Samsung Electronics America (SEA) and Samsung Telecommunications America (STA) in the U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas.
The complaint alleges that the following products infringe LCD-related patents that are owned by Sharp: liquid crystal display (LCD) modules manufactured by Samsung and sold in the United States by Samsung; LCD TVs and LCD monitors which incorporate the LCD modules manufactured by Samsung and are sold in the U.S. by SEA; and mobile phones which incorporate the LCD modules manufactured by Samsung and are sold in the U.S. by STA.
In the complaint, Sharp requests that the Court award compensatory damages to Sharp and prohibit the sales of the infringing products. Sharp also requests a jury trial.
The five patents involved with the lawsuit are U.S. Patent Numbers 4,649,383, 5,760,855, 6,052,162, 7,027,024 and 7,057,689, all of which relate to LCD modules, Sharp said.
Sharp, which began R&D work on LCD in 1970, said it holds numerous LCD-related patents in Japan, the United States and other countries as a result of its research efforts, and licenses its patents for general LCD technologies to LCD panel manufacturers.
The manufacturer said in a statement that it has “negotiated in good faith with Samsung for an LCD patent license since 2006, but has regrettably been unable to resolve this matter through negotiations. As a result, the company was compelled to file the current lawsuit to protect its intellectual property.”
Samsung declines to comment on legal matters. – by Steve Smith
