14 DAY TRIAL // Sharp, a Japanese electronics manufacturer specialized in the flat panel displays, accused Samsung and its divisions Samsung Electronics America and Samsung Telecommunications America of infringing five of its patents that are related to flat screen technology. Both of the companies are currently manufacturing and selling products based on those technologies like computer monitors, TV sets mobile phones displays and other LCD related modules and parts.
Sharp's complaint includes a list of patent violations concerning patents owned by Sharp and which are used in technologies related to the manufacture of LCD screens, TVs and computer monitors. Sharp filed a lawsuit against Samsung and its divisions in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in the town of Marshall, Texas, asking for a jury trial too.
According to the Sharp company, cited by the news site ComputerWorld, the company requested the law court to prohibit the sell of those particular Samsung products in the U.S. and award compensatory damages. The list of products that Sharp wants out of the U.S. is large, including liquid crystal display modules (manufactured either by Samsung or by its U.S. divisions), LCD TVs and monitors and mobile phones which use the LCD display manufactured by Samsung and sold directly by it or by some other companies.
In the display industry, patent law suits are very common and every year there are a lot of cases involving big and well known and established manufacturers and it looks like the city of Marshall in Texas is becoming the focal point of those legal actions because of its fast trials. According to a declaration from Sharp, the company tried to settle this problem concerning the LCD patents in an amiable way since 2006, but negotiations with Samsung led nowhere.