Samsung sues China’s BOE again over shady business dealings

BOE is one of the largest display manufacturers in China. It's inevitable that the company would lock horns with Samsung Display, one of the leading display panel manufacturers in the world. The two companies have gone to court multiple times in several jurisdictions over the years, and have most recently been involved in a patent dispute before the US International Trade Commission.

Samsung has now sued BOE in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleging its Chinese rival's shady business deals that have resulted in the infringement of its trade secrets.

The two companies have been fighting over OLED patent infringement claims at the trade commission since 2023. A preliminary conclusion was issued in Samsung's favor in November 2024 and was later upheld last month.

Samsung alleges in its latest lawsuit that BOE has consistently poached Samsung Display employees and has also colluded with companies in the Samsung Display supply chain to steal the company's trade secrets.

It highlights the drawings of core manufacturing equipment utilized to establish the latest OLED production facility in Chengdu as among the infringed trade secrets. Samsung Display has alleged that BOE has used this information to develop micro-OLED displays in a bid to try and win orders from major customers in the US.

Samsung Display has called upon the court to award it with appropriate relief, including but not limited to the loss of operating profit due to trade secret infringement, compensation for BOE's unfair profitability, and punitive damages. The case has been assigned to District Judge Rodney Gilstrap and Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne.