Just two months after
Hitachi sued LG for PDP patent infringement in the
litigious-playgrounds of Texas, LG has countersued Hitachi of course. LG's suit seeks monetary compensation and an injunction prohibiting Hitachi from violating its seven plasma display panel patents.
Exactly the same claim Hitachi made earlier give-or-take a few patents. While we're fine with the plausible defense of intellectual property, LG's comment on the maneuver has us worried about a bleak future for consumer electronics litigation, "Japanese firms are filing more and more lawsuits as competition in the global display market has increased dramatically. We will proactively deal with the situation based on our patented and patent-applied-for technologies." In other words, firms must sue to compensate their dwindling margins. To make matters worse, LG and Hitachi are (or were) close business partners in areas which include consulting and data storage. A partnership with a Vision statement based on "mutual trust." Riiight.
posted June 18th 2007 4:14AM
LG is beating everyone in sales. Sounds like sour-grapes for the likes of Hitachi (I'd never own one) and they just want LG to pay them (extortion) for what they can't have - market share.
FIRST!
But seriously. Why cant we all just get along!? These lawsuits Have to stop, in the end its just hurting everyone, including the consumer.
Late word is that, yes, we're getting it now...
They do, all have a pocket full of Posies!
Back to you in the studio.
That is amazing... Open any hitachi plasma and you will see it has a LG panel and alot of lg boards, the are not upset about those set they are upset about the plasma that were built by Futisiu Hitachi Manufaturing (FHM) 40 percent owned by each and 20 percent by sony. This is crazy those are cheap panels even hitachi doesnt use in there sets, they sell them to be used in all the walmart crap. they are still working together which amazes me during a lawsuit over plasmas next years Hitachi design is still basiclly a LG.
Japanese corporations simply file suits agaist competitors in OTHER countries in order to eliminate any threat their products might encounter in the retail area. If you all notice, Matsushita Electric sue Samsung and LG a few years back for PDP patent related issues and was seeking not only monetary compesation, but a hold/ban to Samsung and LG PDP products from entering Japan and the United States. What does that tell you? no Samsung/LG Products means more market share for Panasonic plasmas. Same things here with LG and Hitachi. Hitachi is almost defected in the PDP business, they are seeking every single opportunity they can grab to remain in the business.