Samsung Wins Decision to Stop Sharp Imports

Yesterday, Samsung Electronics Co. won a huge decision to stop the U.S. importation of rival products by Sharp Corp.  The ruling, as decided by U.S. International Trade Commission Judge Paul Luckern, stated that Sharp had infringed on two Samsung patents and an order should be imposed to ban entry of Sharp LCD products.

As reported by Bloomberg.com, Samsung and Sharp have traded patent-infringement allegations against each other in an effort to block the other from the U.S. market.  Samsung is reportedly targeting products that use Sharp LCDs, such as high-definition TVs and Motorola Inc.’s RAZR2 mobile phone.

Sharp also has claims against Samsung, which are scheduled to be heard before Judge Luckern beginning on February 9.  The full report of the latest decision isn’t yet public and officials from both sides have yet to comment.

Sharp and Nichia Reach Patent Licensing Agreement

Sharp Corporation has released that they have come to terms with Nichia Corporation in a patent cross-licensing agreement.  The agreement concerns LEDs (light emiting diodes) and laser diodes, which Sharp claims, is a strong candidate for the next generation of lighting devices.  More importantly, the agreement also grants the rights for the respective companies to develop products using LEDs without the threat of litigation from the other.

The related patents in the licensing agreement cover blue-violet laser diodes, which are becoming very popular in the Blu-ray disc format.  LEDs are also used in a variety of electronics such as backlighting for PDAs, mobile phones, as well as LCD TVs and displays.

Sharp claims that, “by entering into this cross-licensing agreement, Sharp and Nichia will be aiming to create even higher-performance LEDs and laser diodes, enabling the two companies to respond to rapidly expanding market demand.”