삼성디스플레이의 OLED 패널이 탑재된 벨브의 스팀덱 OLED./벨브 제공

Major video game companies are contacting Samsung Display to avoid possible legal disputes.

Following Valve, which is an American video game company mass-producing and selling the portable gaming device ‘Steam Deck’, Japanese multinational video game company Nintendo is reportedly in talks with Samsung Display to supply next-generation OLED(Organic Light-Emitting Diodes) panels for various IT devices.

On Dec. 1, 2023, Nintendo reportedly asked Samsung Display to supply OLED panels.

The OLED display is a ‘self-luminous display’ using organic materials that self-illuminate when a current flows through them.

Both companies initially considered Chinese electronic components producer BOE as a supplier.

However, analysts say that they switched to Samsung due to the risk of damages from a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Samsung Display.

In June 2023, Samsung Display filed a patent infringement lawsuit against BOE in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

The allegedly infringed technologies are five OLED display patents for all products released after the iPhone 12.

Samsung claims that BOE is directly infringing its patents by selling panels like those used in the iPhone 12 in the U.S. market.

It recently filed a complaint in the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) against BOE and eight other companies, including BOE’s subsidiaries, for trade secret infringement.

In December 2022, Samsung Display filed a complaint with the ITC against 17 U.S. component wholesalers to stop them from using parts and panels that infringe on the company’s “diamond pixel” to keep BOE in check.

According to Samsung Display, the Diamond pixel is the atoms of Samsung Display, consisting of red, blue, and green (RGB) screen dots in the shape of diamonds.