Chi Mei wins Japanese patent ruling

Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), Taiwan's No.2 maker of flat panels, announced yesterday that it had beaten Japan's Semiconductor Energy Labs (SEL) in a patent dispute, making it the first local firm to win a patent case overseas.

Chi Mei shares were up 0.58 percent at NT$43.55 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.

In a statement made to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Chi Mei said the Tokyo District Court ruled last Friday that it had not infringed upon SEL's patent.

The court instructed SEL to pay Chi Mei ¥10 million (US$85,576) in compensation as well as paying 90 percent of the case's court costs, the statement said.

The Japanese research institute filed the patent infringement lawsuit against several consumer electronics retailers, including the US Wal-Mart Stores Inc's Japanese affiliate Seiyu Ltd early last year. SEL accused the retailers of selling LCD TVs using panels made by Chi Mei, which had made those panels using unlicensed technology from SEL.

The institute also applied for an injunction and the right to confiscate Chi Mei-made LCD TVs at Japanese customs.

In a bid to protect its clients, Chi Mei responded by filing a declaratory judgement lawsuit against SEL late last year asking the court to determine whether or not its panel-making technology constituted an infringement of the institute's patent.