AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電), the nation’s second-biggest LCD panel maker, won a two-year patent lawsuit brought by Thomson Licensing Inc after the US International Trade Commission (ITC) affirmed an initial determination by an Administrative Law Judge that AU Optronics did not infringe on any of Thomson’s patents, AU Optronics said in a statement released yesterday.
That put an end to a nearly two-year investigation launched by the commission in 2010, when French firm Thomson sought a ban on AU Optronics and other companies from exporting their products to the US, the statement said.
The Hsinchu-based panelmaker yesterday said it was pleased with the commission’s ruling.
In August 2010, Thomson filed a complaint with the commission, accusing local panel makers AU Optronics, Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子) and the world’s top LCD TV chip supplier, MStar Semiconductor Inc (晨星半導體), of illegally using its patents in their products.
Thomson also asked the commission to ban those companies from exporting LCD monitors, LCD TVs, LCD modules containing problematic panels and chips to the US.
The commission’s ruling came after Administrative Judge Robert Rogers ruled in favor of AU Optronics on all counts after a trial lasting several weeks, AU Optronics said.
Separately, market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said global PC and TV shipments rose 6.7 percent last month from one month earlier to 64.43 million units, boosted by strong demand for notebook computers and -tablet devices ahead of new product launches.
Flat panels used in tablets jumped 32.4 percent month-on-month to 10.18 million units last month as LG Display Corp and Sharp increased supplies to Apple Inc ahead of sales of the new--generation iPad, TrendForce said on Thursday.
The growth was also backed by sales of local PC maker Asustek Computer Inc’s (華碩電腦) new tablet, Google Pad, in collaboration with the US search engine giant Google Inc, according to the researcher.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day