Samsung sues LG Display over OLED patents
Samsung’s legal team is taking a break from their ongoing battle with Samsung to go after another competitor. The Korean company that produces the Galaxy line of Android phones has filed a patent suit against a branch of the Korean company that produces the Optimus line of phones. Specifically, Samsung is going after LG Display on the basis that several patents pertaining to OLED screen technology should be deemed invalid.
The suit is only the latest volley in the lesser-publicized court battle over the OLED technology that forms the basis for Samsung’s line of Super AMOLED displays as found in such devices as the Galaxy S3. Back in September, LG Display sued Samsung over their use of OLED displays, claiming infringement.
Samsung is seeking to have seven patents granted by a Korean intellectual property tribunal rendered invalid on the basis that they simply aren’t innovative enough to warrant such rights. Voiding such patents could effectively end LG’s ability to go after Samsung on the basis of infringement.
OLED displays, which don’t require the backlight typical to traditional LCD displays and therefore allow for increasingly slimmer device design, have been a staple in Samsung’s flagship products. The company boasts the largest deployment of such displays on mobile devices, something that Samsung sees as a competitive edge. LG’s deployment of OLED technology has largely been relegated to their television business, so the suit at hand isn’t strictly about mobile. That being said, if LG comes out the victor it could create some problems for Samsung’s handset division.