(By Fang Zhou, Editor: Lü Dong)

Beijing BOE has once again retaliated against Samsung's actions of escalating patent disputes over the past two years.

According to a report by South Korean electronics media "TheElec" on September 2nd, an industry insider recently revealed that BOE had submitted an invalidation review application (IPR) to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTAB) at the end of last month, targeting seven US patents of Samsung Display.

In April this year, Samsung filed an additional patent infringement lawsuit against BOE in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, including three patent infringement lawsuits and one trade secret infringement lawsuit, accusing BOE of infringing its patents by providing OLED displays for the Nubia Z60 Ultra smartphone.

It is understood that these seven patents are part of the 12 patents involved in three other patent infringement lawsuits filed by Samsung Display in April. Since BOE has already initiated invalidation proceedings for seven of the 12 patents involved, it is likely that it will also initiate invalidation proceedings for the remaining five patents.

The foldable screen of mobile phones produced by BOE BOE official website

The long-standing "litigation war" between the veteran South Korean panel company Samsung and the domestic panel giant BOE is complex and intertwined.

Their relationship significantly deteriorated starting in 2022 - In November 2022, Samsung directly removed BOE from its latest supplier list; a month later, it complained to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) about 17 U.S. smartphone repair shops, claiming that these shops used "illegal" display panels to repair Samsung Galaxy and Apple iPhone series phones, further intensifying their confrontation.

After BOE filed a patent lawsuit against several Samsung affiliated companies at the Chongqing First Intermediate People's Court, Samsung launched a lawsuit in the United States in July 2023, accusing BOE of infringing its five technology patents by providing OLED screens for the iPhone 12, 13, and 14 series; in October 2023, Samsung filed a lawsuit with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), claiming that BOE's OLED technology infringed its core trade secrets; in April 2024, just under two months before BOE secured the main supply position for the iPhone 16e series, Samsung Display again filed a new lawsuit in a U.S. court, accusing BOE of obtaining OLED trade secrets through improper means.

Among them, the case where Samsung sued BOE for infringing its core trade secrets has reached a preliminary result. An ITC administrative law judge ruled in a preliminary decision that BOE and its seven affiliated companies had infringed on Samsung's trade secrets and violated the provisions of the Tariff Act regarding unfair trade practices.

If Samsung's allegations are proven, BOE may face a sales ban in the U.S. market. The final ruling is expected to be announced in November, and BOE still has time to change the situation. Additionally, analysts previously told South Korean media that the relevant ruling is unlikely to cause significant changes in the OLED market, as finished products equipped with its panels, including iPhones, are not restricted.

On the other hand, facing Samsung's intensive litigation, BOE took a counterattack in May 2024, filing a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Display in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, explicitly stating that Samsung Electronics used technology that infringed on four of BOE's OLED patents in the panel under the camera (UPC) of the Galaxy Z Fold series foldable smartphones.

Returning to the mutual lawsuits between Samsung and BOE, an industry insider said that this competition is not a zero-sum game. The rise of Chinese enterprises' technology has accelerated the iteration of the global semiconductor display industry, while the legal counterattacks from South Korean companies have also forced the industry to pay attention to the boundaries of intellectual property rights, ultimately promoting the entire industry chain to develop towards higher technological dimensions and a healthier competitive ecosystem.

As a representative enterprise in the panel industry, the mutual patent lawsuits between Samsung and BOE reflect the strong rise of domestic panels.

According to the Global Smartphone Panel Shipment Tracking data from Sigmaintell, in the first half of 2025, BOE's a-Si LCD shipments were approximately 180 million pieces, flexible OLED shipments were approximately 71 million pieces, totaling approximately 260 million pieces, securing the top position with a market share of 24.2%. Samsung Display ranked second, with total shipments exceeding 170 million pieces, a market share of 15.7%, including rigid OLED shipments of approximately 84.4 million pieces and flexible OLED shipments of approximately 86.6 million pieces.

Additionally, in terms of iPhone panel supply, BOE is also expanding its share. Previously, data from the South Korean market research company UBI Research showed that BOE accounted for 22.7% of the iPhone panel shipment volume in the second quarter, surpassing South Korean company LG Display for the first time, while Samsung accounted for 56% of the iPhone panel shipment volume.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7545797093626790438/

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