Seoul— South Korea’s LG Display has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States against Chinese rival Tianma Microelectronics, in a move aimed at defending its intellectual property portfolio, industry sources said on Monday.
According to reports from Yonhap news agency, LG Display submitted the complaint on Friday (U.S. time) to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleging that Tianma infringed on seven of its patents. The violations reportedly involve touch integration technologies used in mobile display panels.
The lawsuit claims that several of Tianma’s mobile display products—including both liquid-crystal display (LCD) and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels—illegally use proprietary LG Display technologies.
This marks LG Display’s first patent infringement lawsuit against a Chinese firm.
“Patent infringement is the unauthorized use of the time, capital, and talent invested in developing proprietary technologies,” said an LG Display spokesperson. “We intend to respond decisively through legal action.”
The lawsuit comes amid heightened competition in the global display market and follows LG Display’s recent restructuring moves. Earlier this month, the company announced a 700 billion won (approximately $515 million) investment in its domestic OLED production facilities to strengthen its foothold in the high-end display segment.
In a separate strategic move, LG Display in September sold its entire 80% stake in a large-size LCD panel and module plant in Guangzhou, China, to China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT), a subsidiary of Chinese electronics giant TCL Group, for 2.25 trillion won.
A company official said LG Display is considering using the proceeds to either expand its OLED production plant in Paju, about 30 kilometers northwest of Seoul, or to build a new facility in the same area. The company also plans to allocate part of the funds toward R&D and operational costs to reinforce its leadership in OLED technology.
To advance these efforts, LG Display expects to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) next month with Paju City and Gyeonggi Province. (Source: IANS)
