Samsung Display sues China's BOE in U.S. over technology theft

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Samsung Display sues China's BOE in U.S. over technology theft

Published: 03 Nov. 2023, 10:51 Updated: 03 Nov. 2023, 18:44

PARK EUN-JEE
park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr

Main: Samsung Display's booth at the IAA Mobility 2023 show in Germany [YONHAP]. Inset: The U.S. International Trade Commission's notice presenting Samsung Display's complaint against BOE [SCREEN CAPTURE].

Samsung Display sued China’s BOE in the United States over the misappropriation of trade secrets regarding organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels, in a widening battle between the two display giants.

The complaint has been filed to the U.S. International Trade Commission, according to the commission’s statement issued on Tuesday.

The panel maker, 84.8 percent owned by Samsung Electronics, alleges that BOE acquired Samsung Display’s key technological assets through Toptec, a Korean parts supplier that had a partnership with Samsung.

BOE obtained the trade secrets in 2017 from a total of 11 Toptec workers. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Samsung Display in July, convicting the 11 employees of leaking the information in an attempt to court BOE as a client.

Toptec, a Kosdaq-listed panel equipment manufacturer, worked with Samsung Display in 2014 to mass produce what it called “edge panel” technology. The company obtained the confidential information, including a test product and a blueprint, during that process.

The Korean display maker filed a separate complaint against BOE over patent infringement on edge panel technology with the Texas Eastern District Court in May.

Edge panel technology refers to the placement of red, green and blue sub-pixels in a diamond shape, enabling higher resolution than the traditional square structure allows.

The two companies' dispute began last year when Samsung Display sent a letter to BOE accusing the Chinese firm of making and selling OLED panels that infringed on Samsung's patented technology.

BOE chose to ignore the letter.

Samsung Display took further action in December by filing a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, stating that more than a dozen iPhone repair shops in the United States were using BOE OLED panels made with Samsung’s proprietary technology.

BOE nevertheless continued to manufacture and sell the OLED panels in question and promoted them at business fairs and trade shows. The company exhibited the screens at the Society for Information Display's Display Week, one of the industry's major trade shows, in 2018, 2019 and 2022.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]