The interior of the OLED panel production line of China’s BOE./Courtesy of BOE

Samsung Display has filed a patent lawsuit against China's BOE, followed by LG Display filing seven technology patent infringement lawsuits against China's Tianma, intensifying the efforts of domestic corporations to address the patent theft issues by Chinese display corporations that had been tacitly overlooked.

Industry analysts suggest that this lawsuit is aimed at Apple's direct and indirect partnerships with Chinese display corporations. Apple is under suspicion for providing technical support to Chinese corporations to lower the unit prices of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels from Samsung Display and LG Display over the past few years.

According to industry sources on the 19th, LG Display filed seven technology patent infringement lawsuits against the Chinese display manufacturer Tianma on the 13th (local time) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. This marks the first time LG Display has pursued technology patent lawsuits against a Chinese corporation. They suspect that Tianma has been using critical technologies for liquid crystal display (LCD) and OLED without permission.

This is not the first lawsuit between Korean and Chinese display companies. Samsung Display previously won a case against the Chinese display company BOE in an OLED patent infringement lawsuit filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in March. Samsung Display has also filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Texas regarding the same case and separately initiated a trade secret infringement lawsuit against BOE and its subsidiaries at the ITC. This month, it has also filed a patent infringement lawsuit against another Chinese company, CSOT.

Analysts in the display industry interpret the lawsuit as a warning towards Apple, which is strengthening its partnerships with Chinese corporations to lower costs while ostensibly slowing down the 'rise' of Chinese OLED. One source from a display company stated, "It is an open secret that Apple assisted in the development of OLED technology at BOE to lower the prices of display panels," adding, "Apple's direct and indirect influence cannot be ignored in the process of Samsung's OLED technology leaking to BOE."

As the Trump administration puts pressure on Apple, which relies on hardware production in China, there are analyses indicating that the legal responses from Samsung Display and LG Display will be effective. Linked to Trump's attempts to curb China, technology patent infringements in the display sector, as well as semiconductors, may become a focal point.

So far, Apple has improved its high operating profit margins and product quality by cultivating the Chinese electronics technology ecosystem. Following the initiation of the Trump administration, Apple’s dependency on Chinese production has come to light, prompting foreign media to question the partnership between Apple and Chinese corporations.

The Financial Times (FT) recently reported, "Apple began its rapid growth when it partnered with Taiwan's Foxconn to produce iPods and iPhones in China," noting that "what started as a simple production base in China eventually grew into the largest ecosystem for product manufacturing."

FT pointed out that Apple's role was significant in the emergence of today's Chinese display component manufacturers and electronics companies. Apple has been suspected of fostering the electronic, IT, and component industry ecosystem in China to lower its product costs and increase its operating profit margins, as well as making substantial investments in facilities and transferring technology.