LPL » Topics » Legal Proceedings

This excerpt taken from the LPL 20-F filed Jun 23, 2009.

Legal Proceedings

We are involved from time to time in certain routine legal actions incidental to our business. However, except for the ongoing proceedings described below, we are not currently involved in any material litigation or other proceedings the outcome of which we believe might, individually or taken as a whole, have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. In addition, except as described below, we are not aware of any other material pending or threatened litigation against us.

This excerpt taken from the LPL 20-F filed Apr 16, 2008.

Legal Proceedings

On August 29, 2002, we filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Tatung Company and Tatung Co. of America, Inc. claiming patent infringement on our United States patents relating to liquid crystal displays and the manufacturing processes for thin film transistors and liquid crystal displays. On November 21, 2006, we were awarded US$53.5 million in damages in a trial by jury. On September 12, 2007, the court granted our request for enhanced damages, interest on damages, and additional damages for continuing infringement and legal fees. On September 17, 2007, the same court granted our request for permanent injunction against Chunghwa Picture Tubes to stop it from selling or importing the infringing products in the United States.

On May 27, 2004, we filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Tatung Company and ViewSonic Corp. claiming patent infringement on two of our United States patents relating to rear-mountable liquid crystal display devices.

On May 13, 2005, we filed a separate complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Tatung Company, Tatung Co. of America and ViewSonic Corp. claiming infringement of our patents relating to the design and manufacture of liquid crystal display modules. On July 27, 2006, we were awarded US$52.4 million in damages in a trial by jury.

On January 10, 2005, Chunghwa Picture Tubes filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against LG Electronics and us for alleged infringement of one of its U.S. patents relating to flat panel display mounting systems. On March 29, 2007, after the parties stipulated to the dismissal of Chunghwa Picture Tubes’ infringement claim as well as the dismissal of all pending claims and counterclaims against each other, the same court dismissed the case without prejudice. On November 26, 2007, Chunghwa Picture Tubes and we signed a settlement agreement providing for dismissal of all pending claims and counterclaims, and a cross-licensing agreement allowing the companies to share patented technology. As part of the settlement, Chunghwa Picture Tubes agreed to make a settlement payment to us as compensation.

On December 1, 2006, we filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp., AU Optronics Corp., Tatung Company, ViewSonic Corp. and others claiming infringement of patents related to liquid crystal displays and the manufacturing processes for TFT-LCDs. We are seeking, among other things, monetary damages for past infringement and an injunction against future infringement. On March 8, 2007, AU Optronics Corp. filed a counter-claim against us in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin for alleged infringement of patents related to the manufacturing processes for TFT-LCDs but the suit was transferred to the United States District Court for the District of Delaware pursuant to our motion to transfer. On May 4, 2007, Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. filed a counter-claim against us for patent infringement in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, but the suit was transferred to the United States District Court for the District of Delaware on March 31, 2008 pursuant to our motion to transfer.

 

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On December 6, 2007, Tatung Company and we signed a settlement agreement providing for dismissal of all pending claims and counterclaims against each other. On January 19, 2008, ViewSonic Corp. and we signed a settlement agreement providing for dismissal of all pending claims and counterclaims against each other.

On January 9, 2006, New Medium Technology LLC, AV Technologies LLC, IP Innovation LLC and Technology Licensing Corporation filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against us for alleged patent infringement. In the complaint, IP Innovation LLC and Technology Licensing Corporation sought, among other things, monetary damages for past infringement. On June 28, 2007, we settled with IP Innovation LLC and Technology Licensing Corporation their claims, and the case was dismissed on July 6, 2007.

On April 14, 2006, Positive Technologies, Inc. filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against, among others, several of our customers, including BenQ America Corp., Hitachi America Ltd., Panasonic Corp. of North America, Philips Electronics North America Corp. and Toshiba America, Inc., for alleged infringement of two of its patents relating to LCD displays. Positive Technologies, Inc. is seeking, among other things, damages for past infringement. On March 7, 2007, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted our motion to intervene in the patent infringement case brought by Positive Technologies, Inc.

On February 2, 2007, Anvik Corporation filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against us, along with other TFT-LCD manufacturing companies, for alleged patent infringement in connection with the use of the photo-masking equipments manufactured by Nikon Corporation and the patented methods performed by such system in producing TFT-LCD panels. Anvik is seeking monetary damages for past infringement and an injunction against future infringement.

In December 2006, we received notice that we were under investigation by the Korean Fair Trade Commission, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the European Commission and regulatory bodies of other competitive markets with respect to possible anti-competitive activities in the TFT-LCD industry. We are cooperating fully with the investigations, which are ongoing.

Subsequent to the commencement of the U.S. Department of Justice investigation, a number of purported class action lawsuits were filed against us and other TFT-LCD panel manufacturers in various federal district courts, alleging violation of U.S. antitrust laws and other related laws. In addition, purported class action lawsuits have been brought against us, and certain of our officers and directors, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in February 2007, alleging, among other things, that we and certain of our officers and directors violated the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, in connection with possible anti-competitive activities in the TFT-LCD industry. While we intend to defend these suits vigorously, it is too early in the proceedings to evaluate the probability of a favorable or unfavorable outcome of the actions, or to estimate the potential loss, if any.

We are involved from time to time in certain routine legal actions incidental to our business. However, except for the ongoing legal proceedings described above relating to our intellectual property rights, we are not currently involved in any material litigation or other proceedings the outcome of which we believe might, individually or taken as a whole, adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. In addition, except as described above, we are not aware of any other material pending or threatened litigation against us.

This excerpt taken from the LPL 20-F filed Apr 11, 2007.

Legal Proceedings

On August 29, 2002, we filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Tatung Company and Tatung Co. of America, Inc. We believe that these companies have infringed on six of our United States patents relating to liquid crystal displays and the manufacturing processes for thin-film transistors and liquid crystal displays by selling TFT-LCD products into the United States covered by these patents. We sought, among other things, treble damages for past infringement of these patents and for an injunction against future infringement. On November 21, 2006, in a trial by jury, the defendants were found to have willfully infringed a patent owned by us and we were awarded US$53.5 million in damages. We also filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against customers of Chunghwa

 

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Picture Tubes, including ViewSonic Corp., Jean Co., Lite-On Technology Corp., Lite-On Technology International, Inc., TPV Technology and Invision Peripheral Inc. On May 24, 2004, we sought declaratory relief in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts to determine the inventorship of four of these patents. The case was dismissed, and the inventorship issue was ordered to be decided in the lawsuit before the Central District of California. On June 21, 2004, Chunghwa Picture Tubes filed a counter-claim against us in the United States District Court for the Central District of California for alleged infringement of Chunghwa Picture Tubes’ intellectual property and violation of U.S. antitrust laws. On August 3, 2004, we demanded arbitration of the counter-claims filed by Chunghwa Picture Tubes. On June 20, 2006, an arbitration panel appointed by the American Arbitration Association decided in our favor and ruled that we hold exclusive ownership rights to the patents.

On May 27, 2004, we filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Tatung Co. and ViewSonic Corp. claiming patent infringement on two of our United States patents relating to rear mountable liquid crystal display devices. We are seeking damages for past infringement and an injunction against future infringement. We also filed a parallel complaint with the Patents County Court in the United Kingdom claiming infringement on one of our U.K. patents relating to the same technology. Tatung Co. is a major shareholder in Chunghwa Picture Tubes. The Patents County Court ruled in favor of the defendants, and we appealed the ruling. On December 20, 2006, the appellate court dismissed the case.

On January 10, 2005, Chunghwa Picture Tubes filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against LG Electronics and us for alleged infringement of one of its U.S. patents relating to flat panel display mounting systems. On April 25, 2005, we filed our answer to Chunghwa Picture Tubes’ infringement claim, together with a counter-claim in the United States District Court for the Central District of California for the correction of the legal title of the subject patent. On March 20, 2007, Chunghwa Picture Tubes and we stipulated to the dismissal of Chunghwa Picture Tubes’ infringement claim as well as the dismissal of all pending claims and counterclaims against each other without prejudice. On March 29, 2007, the United States District Court for the Central District of California dismissed the case without prejudice.

On May 13, 2005, we filed a separate complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Tatung Company, Tatung Co. of America and ViewSonic Corporation claiming infringement of our patents relating to the design and manufacture of liquid crystal display modules. We sought, among other things, monetary damages for past infringement and an injunction against future infringement. On July 27, 2006, in a trial by jury, the defendants were found to have infringed a patent owned by us and we were awarded US$52.4 million in damages.

On January 9, 2006, New Medium Technology LLC, AV Technologies LLC, IP Innovation LLC and Technology Licensing Corporation filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against us for alleged patent infringement, seeking, among other things, monetary damages for past infringement.

On December 1, 2006, we filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp., AU Optronics Corp., Tatung Company, ViewSonic Corp. and others claiming infringement of patents related to liquid crystal displays and the manufacturing processes for TFT-LCDs. We are seeking, among other things, monetary damages for past infringement and an injunction against future infringement. On March 8, 2007, AU Optronics Corp. filed a counter-claim against us in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin for alleged infringement of patents related to the manufacturing processes for TFT-LCDs.

On February 2, 2007, Anvik Corporation filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against us, along with other TFT-LCD manufacturing companies, for alleged patent infringement in connection with the use of the photo-masking equipments manufactured by Nikon Corporation and the patented methods performed by such system in producing TFT-LCD panels. Anvik is seeking monetary damages for past infringement and an injunction against future infringement.

On April 14, 2006, Positive Technologies, Inc. filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against, among others, several of our customers, including BenQ America Corp., Hitachi America Ltd., Panasonic Corp. of North America, Philips Electronics North America Corp. and Toshiba America, Inc., for alleged infringement of two of its patents relating to LCD displays. Positive Technologies, Inc. is seeking, among other things, damages for past infringement. On March 7, 2007, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted our motion to intervene in the patent infringement case brought by Positive Technologies, Inc.

In December 2006, we received notice that we were under investigation by the Korean Fair Trade Commission, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and regulatory bodies of other competitive markets with respect to possible anti-competitive activities in the TFT-LCD industry. We are cooperating fully with the investigations, which remain preliminary.

 

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Subsequent to the commencement of the U.S. Department of Justice investigation, a number of purported class action lawsuits were filed against us and other TFT-LCD panel manufacturers in various federal district courts, alleging violation of U.S. antitrust laws and other related laws. In addition, purported class action lawsuits have been brought against us, and certain of our officers and directors, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 2007, alleging, among other things, that we and certain of our officers and directors violated the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, in connection with possible anti-competitive activities in the TFT-LCD industry. While we intend to defend these suits vigorously, it is too early in the proceedings to evaluate the probability of a favorable or unfavorable outcome of the actions, or to estimate the potential loss, if any.

We are involved from time to time in certain routine legal actions incidental to our business. However, except for the ongoing legal proceedings described above relating to our intellectual property rights, we are not currently involved in any material litigation or other proceedings the outcome of which we believe might, individually or taken as a whole, adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. In addition, except as described above, we are not aware of any other material pending or threatened litigation against us.

This excerpt taken from the LPL 20-F filed Jun 21, 2006.

Legal Proceedings

On August 29, 2002, we filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Tatung Company and Tatung Co. of America, Inc. We believe that these companies have infringed on six of our United States patents relating to liquid crystal displays and the manufacturing processes for thin-film transistors and liquid crystal displays by selling TFT-LCD products into the United States covered by these patents. We are seeking, among other things, treble damages for past infringement of these patents and for an injunction against future infringement. The trial is scheduled to begin on October 3, 2006. We also filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against customers of Chunghwa Picture Tubes, including ViewSonic Corp., Jean Co., Lite-On Technology Corp., Lite-On Technology International, Inc., TPV Technology and Invision Peripheral Inc. Currently the matter is in the discovery stage. On May 24, 2004, we sought declaratory relief in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts to determine the inventorship of four of these patents. The case has been dismissed, and the inventorship issue is to be decided in the pending lawsuit before the Central District of California. On June 21, 2004, Chunghwa Picture Tubes filed a counter-claim against us in the United States District Court for the Central District of California for alleged infringement of Chunghwa Picture Tubes’ intellectual property and violation of U.S. antitrust laws. On August 3, 2004, we demanded arbitration of the counter-claims filed by Chunghwa Picture Tubes. The arbitration proceedings are currently in progress before the American Arbitration Association.

On May 27, 2004, we filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Tatung Co. and ViewSonic Corp. claiming patent infringement on two of our United States patents relating to rear mountable liquid crystal display devices. We are seeking damages for past infringement and an injunction against future infringement. We also filed a parallel complaint with the Patents County Court in the United Kingdom claiming infringement on one of our U.K. patents relating to the same technology. Tatung Co. is a major shareholder in Chunghwa Picture Tubes.

On January 10, 2005, Chunghwa Picture Tubes filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against LG Electronics and us for alleged infringement of one of its U.S. patents relating to flat panel display mounting systems. On April 25, 2005, we filed our answer to Chunghwa Picture Tubes’ infringement claim, together with a counter-claim in the United States District Court for the Central District of California for the correction of the legal title of the subject patent. We are also seeking damages for Chungwha Picture Tubes’ inequitable conduct in prosecuting the patent.

On May 13, 2005, we filed a separate complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Tatung Company, Tatung Co. of America and ViewSonic Corporation claiming infringement of our patents relating to the design and manufacture of liquid crystal display modules and seeking, among other things, monetary damages for past infringement and an injunction against future infringement.

We are involved from time to time in certain routine legal actions incidental to our business. However, except for the ongoing legal proceedings described above relating to our intellectual property rights, we are not currently involved in any material litigation or other proceedings the outcome of which we believe might,

 

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individually or taken as a whole, adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. In addition, except as described above, we are not aware of any other material pending or threatened litigation against us.

This excerpt taken from the LPL 20-F filed Apr 11, 2005.

Legal Proceedings

 

On August 29, 2002, we filed a complaint in the Unites States District Court for the Central District of California against Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Tatung Company and Tatung Co. of America. We believe that these companies have infringed on six of our United States patents relating to liquid crystal displays and the manufacturing processes for thin-film transistors and liquid crystal displays by selling TFT-LCD products into the United States covered by these patents. We are seeking, among other things, treble damages for past infringement of these patents and for an injunction against future infringement. We also filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against customers of Chunghwa Picture Tubes, including ViewSonic Corp., Jeans Co., Lite-On Technology Corp., Lite-On Technology International, Inc., TPV Technology and Invision Peripheral Inc. These several claims were subsequently consolidated into one lawsuit. Currently the matter is in the discovery stage. On May 24, 2004, we sought declaratory relief in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts to determine the ownership of certain of those six patents. On June 21, 2004, Chunghwa Picture Tubes filed a counter-claim against us in the United States District Court for the Central District of California for alleged infringement of Chunghwa Picture Tubes’ intellectual property and violation of U.S. antitrust laws. On August 3, 2004, we demanded arbitration of the counter-claims filed by Chunghwa Picture Tubes. The arbitration proceedings are currently in progress before the American Arbitration Association.

 

On May 27, 2004, we filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Tatung Co. and ViewSonic Corp. claiming patent infringement on two of our United States patents relating to rear mountable liquid crystal display devices. We are seeking damages for past infringement and an injunction against future infringement. We also filed a parallel complaint with the Patents County Court in the United Kingdom claiming infringement on one of our U.K. patents relating to the same technology. Tatung Co. is a major shareholder in Chunghwa Picture Tubes.

 

On January 10, 2005, Chunghwa Picture Tubes filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against LG Electronics and us for alleged infringement of one of their U.S. patents relating to flat panel display mounting systems.

 

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We are involved from time to time in certain routine legal actions incidental to our business. However, except for the ongoing legal proceedings described above relating to our intellectual property rights, we are not currently involved in any material litigation or other proceedings the outcome of which we believe might, individually or taken as a whole, adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. In addition, except as described above, we are not aware of any other material pending or threatened litigation against us.

 

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