AWE USA 2025 Samsung Display exhibition booth scenery./Courtesy of News1

Samsung Display has filed a lawsuit against China's BOE for 'organic light-emitting diode (OLED) trade secret infringement,' and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled in a preliminary judgment that BOE's trade secret infringement should be acknowledged, and an import ban should be imposed.

According to the industry on the 14th, the ITC issued a preliminary judgment on the 11th (local time) stating that a total of eight companies, including BOE and seven subsidiaries, violated Section 337 of the tariff law by improperly using Samsung Display's trade secrets. The ITC recommended two sanctions for BOE: a 'limited exclusion order' and a 'cease and desist order.'

The limited exclusion order prohibits the importation of OLED panels and modules made using Samsung Display's trade secrets, as well as components mounted on them, into the United States. The cease and desist order prohibits activities such as marketing, distributing, selling, advertising, and proposing products that contain the relevant technology. This includes already imported stocks and could be expanded to other regions as well as the U.S.

In the case of a preliminary ruling, the ITC issues it after conducting an investigation into unfair trade practices. The industry believes there is little likelihood that the outcome will change in the final ruling. The specific scope of sanctions was not detailed in this preliminary ruling. Speculation has also arisen that Apple, which sources OLED panels for its iPhone (standard model) from BOE, may no longer be able to apply BOE panels.

The ITC's final ruling will take place in November. Samsung Display filed a complaint against BOE for trade secret infringement with the ITC on October 31, 2023.

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