Samsung Display President Yi Chung speaks during the Samsung OLED IT Summit in Taipei, Oct. 15, 2024. Courtesy of Samsung Display

Samsung Display secured a favorable ruling in its legal battle against Chinese display giant BOE, with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) confirming that BOE has infringed on Samsung Display's patents related to OLED technologies.

According to industry officials, the USITC, Wednesday (local time), upheld its initial determination from November that BOE had infringed on three of Samsung Display's patents, and U.S. wholesalers had infringed on four. However, the commission did not impose an import or sales ban in the U.S. against BOE, citing that the infringement had no significant impact on U.S. industries.

The patent dispute dates back to December 2022, when Samsung Display filed complaints against 17 component wholesalers in the United States. In the complaints, Samsung Display argued that OLEDs it imported from China and used for smartphone repairs infringed on five of its patents including Diamond Pixel.

The investigation initially focused on the wholesalers, but when it was found that the products in question included panels made by BOE, the Chinese firm voluntarily submitted itself for investigation in February 2023.

The battle expanded as BOE filed complaints in April 2023 against the Chinese subsidiaries of Samsung Display and Samsung Electronics with a court in Chongqing, China, accusing the two firms of infringing on patents. In June 2023, BOE petitioned the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to invalidate five of Samsung Display's USITC complaints, with Chinese peers including CSOT, Tianma and Visionox joining the petition in a class action.

Samsung Display responded by filing complaints with courts in Texas, Chongqing and Shanghai in summer 2023, accusing BOE of infringing on five patents.

The odds began to shift in favor of Samsung Display, as the USITC's administrative law judge upheld the validity of Samsung Display's patents in its initial determination in November last year, ruling that BOE and U.S. component wholesalers had unlawfully used three and four of Samsung Display's patents, respectively.

The PTAB also ruled in December and January that four out of the five patents disputed by BOE and three other Chinese display makers remain valid. A decision on the remaining patent is still pending.

"Though the sales and import bans was not granted, the fact that the initial determination was upheld makes this a favorable outcome for Samsung Display, considering the multiple ongoing lawsuits," an industry official said.

"Since a lawsuit involving the same patents is currently ongoing at the Texas court, this USITC ruling is expected to have a significant impact on the case."

Apart from aforementioned patent suits, Samsung Display has filed a separate complaint with the USITC accusing BOE and its subsidiaries of damaging trade secrets. Samsung Display argues that BOE allegedly stole trade secrets through current and former employees of Toptec, a partner company of Samsung Display. The USITC is expected to hand down its initial determination by the end of this month.

"We will continue make efforts to protect our intellectual property we have built through significant investments, and will respond firmly to patent infringement to safeguard our market competitiveness," a Samsung Display official said.