Chimei Accuses Sony of ‘Widespread Infringement’ of Display Patents
Chimei Innolux is stepping up its legal battle with Sony, accusing the CE manufacturer of “widespread infringement” of display-related patents. The infringement extends through Sony’s Bravia TV line and beyond to its PlayStation 3 videogames console, Chi Mei said in a complaint in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del. Chimei said it also lodged a complaint with the International Trade Commission seeking to bar importation to the U.S. of Sony products infringing its patents, the company said. Sony officials weren’t available to comment. Chimei filed a separate case against Sony in U.S. District Court, Fayetteville, Ark., alleging that its LCD TVs, digital cameras and digital photo frames infringe another set of patents.
The Delaware action involves three patents granted from 1998 to 2003, Chimei said. One, granted in 1998 to David Pelka and John Popovich and assigned to Teledyne Lighting and Display Products, describes a flat-panel display’s LEDs that use a waveguide to provide uniform lighting. Another patent, issued to Rolfe Petschek and assigned to Case Western Reserve University and Rockwell Science Center, covers patterned electrodes used to control the alignment of liquid crystals in displays. The third patent, which relates to a broad array of products, covers a random access cache memory controller and system compatible with nonburst and burst transfers of data. The ITC complaint, filed Tuesday, is based on the same patents.
The Arkansas suit, filed in July, also was based on three patents, granted 1996 to 2004. The oldest was issued Robert Hartman and Alan Knapp and describes a fast-response electro-optic display device.
The suits seem to signal a souring of relations between Chimei and Sony. Chimei, formerly Chi Mei Optoelectronics, sold its share of the International Display Technology (IDT) low-temperature polysilicon joint venture in 2005 to Sony for $1.7 billion. Chimei formed IDT in 2001 with partner IBM. At the time, IDT appeared to complement a low-temperature polysilicon LCD STLCD joint venture that Sony had formed with Toyota in 1997. STLCD was to supply LCDs for digital cameras and cellphones. Chimei merged with Hon Hai Precision’s Innolux this year to form Chimei Innolux.
In another legal battle, Vizio lodged a complaint with the ITC against LG Electronics in July, accusing the company of patent infringement. This month, the commission started an investigation into Vizio’s complaint. Vizio alleged that LG’s TVs violated its portfolio of six QAM-related patents that it acquired from Motorola in April 2009. The patents were granted to General Instrument from 1993 to 1997 and covered a range of QAM technology including a method for coding 16 to 64 QAM transmission to enable the low-cost implementation of a digital cable system. Motorola acquired General Instrument in 2000. Vizio sued Sony last year on similar grounds. An LG spokesman declined to comment. LG also filed an ITC complaint against Vizio, claiming its TV infringed four patents. A hearing on LG’s complaint was held in June before an ITC administrative law judge and a preliminary decision is expected this fall. Vizio has been at the center of a series of patent suits in recent years, including filings by Funai in 2007 (CED June 10 p3).