Hitachi sues LG over plasma patent infringement, tries to halt US sales

Just when Hitachi had us all believing that it was planning on reaching new heights in the plasma market thanks to a ginormous PDP set and a thirsty overseas crowd, now we're seeing the fallback plan. Of course, we can't really suggest that Hitachi's latest lawsuit on LG's (surprise, surprise) plasma displays have anything to do with the firm's dreary numbers, but it has nevertheless filed a lawsuit in the ill famed "district court in Texas" (read: patent troll heaven) saying that "the South Korean company infringed its plasma display-related patents." The suit seeks the obligatory "monetary compensation for damages," but more interesting is the tidbit that requests a "permanent injunction prohibiting LG's plasma display panel product sales in the United States." According to a Hitachi spokesperson, the two outfits had "been in talks regarding the appropriate licenses for these seven patents," but apparently, neither side is backing down anytime soon.

[shimman @ Apr 24th 2007 1:24PM]

hitachi is probably trying to exit the pdp market but not without getting something and having a quality supplier tied with them.

it's no longer a secrete that only toshiba-matsushita, lg, and samsung would survive in the large screen pdp market, but hitachi is probably trying to make a venture firm like toshiba-matsushita without investing much in it.

however, i am not sure lg would give up easily in the court

[Z @ Apr 24th 2007 1:24PM]

Am I the only one growing tired of everybody suing everybody? All companies do all day long is sue each other. Every week, we read about yet another lawsuit. With all these suits, how do companies even manage to stay in business these days?

You could almost forget about having price drops - companies are too busy hustling to figure out how to pay their legal bills as their attorneys are locked in battles 24/7.

The corporate world needs to grow up. But of course, this will never happen. ~Sigh~... kids.

[Ray-- @ Apr 24th 2007 1:27PM]

so apparently now anybody who files a patent infringement lawsuit is a troll?? You make absolutely no qualification for that statement other than which district court the suit it filed?? Wow

[shimman @ Apr 24th 2007 2:00PM]

hitachi is suggested as a "patent troll" probably because

1. their pdp sales so low that there was a rumor of exiting the pdp market

2. tries to halt lg's pdp sales

3. it is very likely that those 7 patents hitachi is claiming would end up like toshiba vs samsung pdp patents disputes which ended up with nothing & toshiba had to partener with matushita (panny)


this sounds a lot like toshiba vs samsung dispute, and what hitachi really wants is a partnership with lg without investing much in the pdp market

btw, it appears that only toshiba-matsushita, lg, and samsung would survive in the large screen pdp market...even pioneer's future is questionable for now

[ethana2 @ Apr 24th 2007 5:46PM]

If there weren't any patents, do you really think innovation would stop? How fickle are people? I'd invent for free- It'd be fun, and if society uses the ideas, you have improved your own quality of life.

If we didn't have them, we'd see mad competition. "Hey, that's a good idea! Quick! Implement it in our products! What else is there that we haven't used yet?"

"Dude. I just figured out a cure for aids. How long can I sit on the patent? Seven years? Sweet. I'm gonna be the richest man on..." meanwhile people who can't afford it due to licensing costs die by the millions. "Why should I care?", says the entrepreneur. "This is a corporation, not a charity. Take your socialist crap somewhere else."

Sure, you may say, no one's that heartless. But do they have the right to be?
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[Patrick Malone @ Apr 24th 2007 6:14PM]

Why can't they sue each other in Asia over this? Maybe because they don't believe in patent law?