Samsung seals cross-licensing deal with Sharp, ends patent disputes

By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest
flat-screen panel maker, said Monday that it has signed a cross licensing deal
with Japan's Sharp Corp. over technologies related to liquid crystal display
(LCD) panels and LCD modules.
The cross-licensing deal signed on Friday, which gives each firm access to
patents owned by the other company, ends all patent disputes lodged by the two
parties, the South Korean company said in a regulatory filing. The financial
terms were not disclosed.
The two tech rivals from South Korea and Japan were riddled in LCD patent suits
since Sharp, the world's fourth-largest flat panel TV maker, lodged a suit
alleging Samsung infringed on its patents in August, 2007. Samsung also filed a
complaint against Sharp in U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).
The Friday deal cancels all previous rulings made by the ITC, including a U.S.
imports ban made in November on Samsung's LCD products that were deemed to have
violated Sharp's patent.
ylee@yna.co.kr
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