Samsung Display and BOE End OLED Dispute With Major Settlement

For years, Samsung Display and BOE have been locked in legal battles over OLED technology. The two companies have recently resolved their disputes through a major settlement, closing multiple lawsuits and ending accusations of trade secret theft and patent infringement. This comes ahead of a final ruling by the US International Trade Commission (ITC).

Samsung Display and BOE settle legal battle ahead of ITC’s final ruling

In December 2022, Samsung Display filed a lawsuit with the ITC, accusing BOE of infringing its OLED patents. In October 2023, the company filed an additional complaint of trade secret infringement. Furthermore, this year, the firm filed five more IP (intellectual property) lawsuits against BOE in the US, while BOE filed one lawsuit.

In its initial ruling earlier this year, ITC favored Samsung, saying BOE had obtained and used Samsung Display’s trade secrets through improper means. Moreover, the commission proposed a “limited exclusion order” that would block BOE from selling OLED panels in the US for 14 years and 8 months. However, ahead of ITC’s final ruling, BOE reportedly requested Samsung Display to negotiate a settlement.

ITC recently announced that it will terminate the proceedings into the dispute after the two companies reached a settlement. The commission will close the case based on a “Joint Motion to Stay”. “The two companies agreed that fair technological competition is important for the development of the display industry and decided to withdraw all lawsuits between the parties,” said Samsung Display (via Chosun).

While ITC did not disclose the terms of the settlement, the industry expects that BOE will pay Samsung Display royalties related to its OLED panel revenue. Samsung Display reportedly asked for around 2 trillion won, while BOE suggested about 500 billion won. In the end, they have agreed on roughly 1 trillion won. Furthermore, they reportedly agreed to withdraw all the related lawsuits, ending years of legal disputes between the two display makers.