Samsung Buys LCD Patents from LG Amid Ongoing BOE Dispute

Samsung Display has reportedly bought several US LCD (liquid crystal display) patents from LG Display. This comes as a surprise, as the company stopped making LCD panels three years ago but is now collecting LCD-related patents. The reason behind this move is not to restart production, but to strengthen its legal battle against Chinese display maker BOE over patent infringement.

Samsung buys LG’s LCD patents to bolster legal battle against BOE

According to a report from TheElec, LG Display transferred a total of 70 US LCD patents to Samsung Display in May. In June, the company again transferred 55 LCD patents, though only 44 of these are related to the US patents. Interestingly, this is the first time LG Display has given patents to Samsung Display, while there is no record of patent transfers in the other direction.

Back in June 2022, Samsung stopped its LCD production and began buying panels from third-party display makers for its products. This means Samsung Display has not bought these LCD patents to make panels. Industry analysts believe the company plans to use them in ongoing patent disputes against BOE.

For the uninitiated, Samsung Display is currently in legal battles with BOE and CSOT over patents. These cases are happening in several legal bodies, including the US International Trade Commission (ITC), Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), federal courts, and the Federal Circuit (CAFC).

While legal battles between the two display makers are over OLED technology, Samsung believes that adding more LCD patents to its portfolio could give it an advantage in court. LCD patents cover a bunch of high-selling products, so the Korean company sees this technology as a greater threat than OLED. In patent cases, the losing side may have to pay a large amount of damages proportional to market sales.

One of the notable patents Samsung Display bought from LG Display is the IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology. BOE is weak in this area — the firm has reportedly been making LCD panels using this patented technology. It will be interesting to see how Samsung uses these newly acquired patents in its legal case against BOE.