Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子), the nation’s largest LCD panel maker, yesterday said it had filed a patent lawsuit against Sony Corp, accusing the Japanese consumer electronics giant of illegally using its patents to make panels used in a wide range of products, including LCD TVs.
The Taiwanese company’s move came after Sony filed a complaint at a US district court in March, asserting that Chimei and Hong-Kong-listed LCD monitor maker TPV Technology Ltd (冠捷) infringed its patents when making TVs and monitors.
Chimei has requested that the Western District Court of Arkansas halt US sales of Sony products that infringe on Chimei’s patents, including its Bravia-series LCD TVs, Cybershot digital cameras and digital photo frames, according to a company statement released yesterday.
DAMAGE CLAIMS
Chimei requested an unspecified claim for damages from Sony and also filed a similar patent infringement lawsuit with the Beijing Intermediate People’s Court, the statement said.
“We are committed to protecting our valuable intellectual property, our industry partners and, most importantly, our customers,” Chimei Innolux’s general counsel and vice president Peterson Tien (田正人) said yesterday. “After our recent three-way merger, our intellectual properties portfolio has strengthened substantially and has become more diversified.”
Chimei Innolux Corp was formed in March through the merger of Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), Innolux Display Corp (群創光電) and TPO Display Co (統寶光電).
Sony yesterday offered no immediate comment on Chimei’s legal move.
“We’re confirming the facts and can’t comment any further at this point,” Bloomberg Newswires quoted Tokyo-based Sony spokesman Atsuo Omagari as saying.
AUO
Separately, AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the nation’s No. 2 flat-panel maker, yesterday said sales last month edged down 0.4 percent to NT$43.6 billion (US$1.35 billion) as prices dropped at a slower pace.
The panel maker accumulated revenues of NT$128.57 billion in the second quarter, up 15.3 percent from NT$111.56 billion in the first quarter, according to a company statement.
Shipments of PC and TV panels grew 8.8 percent to 29.62 million units from the previous quarter, slightly below the company’s forecast of a 10 percent quarter-on-quarter increase.
AU Optronics vice president Paul Peng (彭雙浪) said last month that improving demand in recent months bode well for business in the second half of this year.
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