Samsung vs. BOE: Patent Dispute Intensifies

Claims in patent disputes specify the boundaries of patent rights. These descriptions are crucial in patent infringement litigations as involved parties might interpret the patented technologies differently which can significantly affect the judgment. It’s not common for the ITC to favor one side’s interpretations entirely, as happened in this case.

The legal tussle between the two display giants started late last year, when Samsung accused BOE of infringing on several of its patents, notably for Diamond Pixel technology (instead of the standard RGB arrangement, Samsung uses two green sub-pixels for every red and blue). Samsung alleged that BOE’s panels, used extensively in smartphone after-sales services in the US, violated its intellectual property rights. In response to Samsung’s allegations, the ITC initiated a patent infringement inquiry against 17 component wholesalers in the US in January of this year.

BOE retaliated by launching a lawsuit against Samsung and its local associate in April, 2023, in the Chongqing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court. In June, BOE further challenged Samsung by filing for patent invalidation proceedings, or inter partes review (IPR), with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) targeting the five patents that Samsung laid claim to.

Samsung Display, in turn, pursued patent infringement legal actions in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and in Chinese jurisdictions. Both sides await the main trial at the ITC, scheduled for January 22, 2024. A conclusive verdict is anticipated on June 17 of the same year.