Samsung Display has reportedly won a de facto victory in a "Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) trade secret infringement lawsuit" filed against the Chinese display corporation BOE with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC).
In a preliminary ruling on 11th of last month, the ITC stated that "despite the outstanding level of security measures taken by Samsung Display, BOE acquired and used Samsung Display's trade secrets through improper means," adding that this "caused substantial harm and serious threats to Samsung Display." The ITC also issued an order banning BOE from importing OLED panels into the U.S. market for approximately 15 years.
On Oct. 31, 2023, Samsung Display filed a lawsuit against BOE for trade secret infringement with the ITC. The final ruling is expected in November. Industry insiders forecast that the final decision is unlikely to change, as the ITC recognized BOE's trade secret infringement and improper acquisition of confidential information through employee recruitment in the preliminary ruling.
The ITC issued a "Limited Exclusion Order" (LEO) prohibiting BOE's OLED panels from being imported into the U.S. for 14 years and 8 months. The ITC determined that the development period for Samsung Display's core OLED technology was 14 years and 8 months. The duration of the LEO is typically calculated based on "the time necessary to eliminate unfair profits." However, in this case, it is presumed to aggregate the development times of multiple individual trade secrets and technologies.
Additionally, the ITC has prohibited BOE's headquarters in China and its U.S. local corporations from all marketing, sales, advertising, and inventory sales within the United States, effectively preventing BOE from conducting overall business activities in the U.S. In the second quarter of this year, BOE held a 22.7% share of the global market for small OLED panels for iPhones.
In the medium to long term, it is expected to benefit domestic display companies such as Samsung Display and LG Display. An industry official noted, "Since most display panels are exported to manufacturing facilities in China rather than the United States, there will likely be no short-term changes in OLED market share. However, as trust in BOE has been undermined, domestic companies are expected to reap spillover benefits in the long-term U.S. OLED market."