Samsung Files ITC Complaint Against Sharp

South Korea's Samsung has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, alleging Japan's Sharp makes LCD displays that infringe on four Samsung patents.

Another day, another patent war starts to brew. South Korea’s technology giant Samsung has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission alleging that Japan’s Sharp is selling LCD flat panel displays and other items (like notebook computers, mobile phones, and monitors) that infringe on four Samsung patents. Samsung wants the ITC to bar sales of the Sharp products in the U.S. market.

The move marks an escalation in a legal battle between the two manufacturing giants, which are two of the world’s largest makers of flat-panel LCD displays. Earlier this month, Sharp filed a suit of its own in a South Korean court alleging that Samsung was infringing on Sharp patents; Sharp has also filed suit against Samsung in Texas. In addition to the ITC complaint, Samsung says it plans to sue Sharp in both Texas and Delaware. The companies are also engages in similar litigation in Japan.

The patent battle highlights not only the fierce competition in the flat-panel television market, but also the growing litigation between Japanese and South Korean electronics companies as they vie for market share. Japan’s Matsushita went after South Korea’s LG in 2004 over plasma screen patents; they eventually settled. South Korea’s Hynix and Japan’s Toshiba also engaged in extensive litigation over semiconductor patents, only to settle in March of this year.

Both companies are seeking injunctions barring the sale and distribution of products they claim infringe on their patents. For Sharp, that could mean not selling Aquos TVs and a slew of other products in Japan and the United States; for Samsung, that could mean not selling LCD products in South Korea or the United States. Samsung is the world’s largest manufacturer of LCDs; Sharp is currently ranked number two, although Sony is a close third.