Patents

IPValue buys 200 OLED patents from Seiko Epson

IPValue Management announced that it has acquired around 200 OLED patents from Seiko Epson. We do not know the nature of these patents, and whether IPValue bought all of Seiko Epson's OLED IP portfolio or just a part of it. IPValue says that the patents will be owned by its subsidiary Lumitek Display Technology.

Espon 14-inch Inkjet processed OLED
Espon 14-inch Inkjet processed OLED prototype (2009)

 

Seiko Epson has been working on OLED technologies for many years - and it has been involved mostly with soluble OLED materials, ink-jet printing and OLED microdisplays. In 2013 Samsung Display bought several OLED patents from Seiko Epson

Read the full story Posted: Dec 19,2023

Kyulux raises $28.6 million, is on track to achieve full-scale mass production of its HF/TADF emitter system by 2025

Kyulux announced that it has raised $28.6 million USD in its Series C funding round, led by El Camino Capital and the MCP Group. This brings Kyulux total funding so far to $86 million USD.

A part of the Kyulux team based in Fukuoka, Japan

Kyulxu says that it will use the newly raised funds to further accelerate its product development, strengthen its IP portfolio and achieve full-scale mass production of its emitter system by 2025, with its affiliated chemical companies.

Read the full story Posted: Dec 01,2023

Samsung Display files another complaint in the US trade comission against BOE

Samsung Display filed a new complaint in the US trade commission (ITC) against BOE, claiming that the Chinese OLED producer is infringing on SDC's OLED patents and IP, and is using unfair methods of competition. 

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE photo

In January 2023 Samsung filed a motion with the US ITC to halt the import of aftermarket AMOLED displays produced by BOE. A group of OLED makers in China, which includes BOE, answered with a motion of their own, to dismiss an SDC AMOLED patent. This legal battle continues, and the tension between Samsung and BOE is on the rise.

Read the full story Posted: Nov 03,2023

A senior researcher formerly working at Samsung Display, accused of stealing OLED trade secrets with an aim to sell them to Chinese display makers, returns to Korea to face chargers

In 2021, we reported that two researchers working at Samsung Display were convicted of handing over OLED technology to other companies, and are being sent to prison for two years. Representative and directors of the company that bought the technology was also sent to prison and the company was fined. The technology in question relates to Optical Adhesive Materials used in OLED production processes. The arrest of these employees was reported earlier in 2020.

It is now reported that another employee of Samsung Display, also involved in that case (seems to be he was the main organizer of the outfit) fled Korea following his indictment, but has now returned voluntarily to Korea and has been arrested and is now bring charged with violating unfair competition laws in Korea. 

Read the full story Posted: Oct 10,2023

Reports from Korea suggest that Samsung Display is interested in acquiring SEL's mask-less OLED production technology

According to reports from Korea, Samsung Display is interested in acquiring OLED IP and patents from Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL). These patents detail an OLED production process that does not require the use of fine metal mask (FMM) evaporation.

SEL 8.3-inch 8K OLED prototype (Dec 2018)

The use of FMM to deposit and pattern OLED displays is seen as a major setback towards higher density OLED displays, and it also limits the aperture ratio. It is no wonder that Samsung is interested in such technology, as other display makers have developed similar technologies that offer massive performance boost over the standard FMM process.

Read the full story Posted: Jul 26,2023

Samsung Electronics stops its BOE OLED review process as the tension between the two companies rises

According to reports from Korea, Samsung Electronics considered adopting AMOLED display produced by BOE for its next flagship smartphone, but the company has halted the review process as the two companies are in the midst of an IP dispute.

A few months ago Samsung filed a motion with the US ITC to halt the import of aftermarket AMOLED displays produced by BOE. A group of OLED makers in China, which includes BOE, answered with a motion of their own, to dismiss an SDC AMOLED patent. This legal battle continues, and the tension between Samsung and BOE is on the rise.

Read the full story Posted: Jul 11,2023

Chinese OLED makers file a motion to dismiss a major SDC OLED patent in the US as the dispute of AMOLED imports to the US continues

Earlier this year, we reported that Samsung filed a request at the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to ban BOE's aftermarket AMOLED panels in the US, as they infringe on Samsung's OLED patent. Following the request, the ITC started a formal investigation.

Xiaomi 13 Pro smartphone

According to a new report from China, several OED makers in China (BOE, Tianma, TCL CSoT and Visionox) have joined forces and filed a motion to invalidate one of Samsung's main OLED patents in the US. This is a response to SDC's request to halt BOE's US aftermarket AMOLED panel sales.

Read the full story Posted: Jun 19,2023

UDC acquires Merck's phosphorescent OLED emitter IP, enters into a PHOLED stack development partnership

Universal Display Corporation announced that it has acquired Merck's Phosphorescent OLED Emitter Intellectual Property (IP) assets. This portfolio includes over 550 issued and pending patents around 172 patent families with an average lifetime of 10 years, and represents over 15 years of R&D. 

UDC RGB PHOLED materials photo

The two companies also entered into a multi-year collaboration agreement, in which the two companies will create advanced PHOLED stacks based on UDC's OLED green and yellow emitters and Merck's transport and host materials.

Read the full story Posted: May 04,2023

The US ITC launches a formal investigation against BOE regarding Samsung's OLED patents

According to Business Korea, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) launched a investigation to check whether BOE infringes Samsung's OLED patents. This is a second step in Samsung's' efforts to ban BOE's AMOLED panels in the US, following a request to ban aftermarket AMOLED panels in the US.

This will be interesting to watch, especially as BOE aims to become a supplier for Apple's future iPhone displays.

Read the full story Posted: Apr 10,2023

Nanomatch announces a novel class of emitters for efficient and stable blue OLEDs

This is a sponsored post by Nanomatch

Using their in-house virtual design tools, Nanomatch developed a new class of emitters that enables the production of stable, fluorescent OLED devices with close to 100% internal quantum efficiency also in the blue color range.

The specific class of fluorescent emitters facilitates the generation of only singlets with radiative decay of the order of 10-8s, thereby eliminating quenching processes induced by long-lived triplets. Having filed the patent end of February 2023, Nanomatch is now looking for partners to commercialize this new concept in order to realize efficient, stable blue OLEDs on an industrial level.

Read the full story Posted: Mar 28,2023