Samsung Display in employee invention patent suit

Samsung Display has given up the rights of some of its patents in its employee invention lawsuit.

The employee who first filed the lawsuit back in 2017 over the rights to oxide thin film transistors (TFT) used for 6th generation liquid crystal display (LCD) has claimed the company was attempting to lessen the damages it needs to pay, TheElec has learned.

The employ, who was vice president at Samsung Display and with the surname Park, worked at the company from 2009 to 2014.

Park filed a 3 billion won lawsuit against the company in 2017 for the invention he made while he was an employee. Park led the oxide TFT development team at the firm.

Park said Samsung Display made huge sales from the patented technology while not rewarding him.

The panel that used the patents was supplied to Apple.

Samsung Display is estimated to have made 1.9 trillion won from products that use the technology from 2014 to 2017, according to Park.

The patents in question are for TFT array panel, TFT and zinc oxide based sputtering target for the same as well as zinc oxide-based sputtering target, method of preparing the same, and TFT including a barrier layer deposited by the zinc oxide-based sputtering target.

Samsung Display gave up its patent rights in South Korea for the second and third patents in April. The lawyers for the company said it will no longer use the technologies.

Samsung Display is likely to give up the patents in the US as well.

Park claimed that Samsung Corning Advanced Glass, which Samsung Display has a stake in, is the co-developer of the patents, meaning Samsung Display will still be able to use the patents.

Park also claimed that the patents will be used for TFT on quantum dot organic light emitting diode (OLED) that Samsung Display is preparing to produce. Park is also claiming reward for the future sales that the displays will bring.

Samsung Display is also claiming that Park isn’t the inventor of the patents. The company claims Park used his position as vice president to steel the technology from another employee who actually developed the technology. Park has filed a perjury lawsuit against the other employee who was a witness to the trial.

The patent trial’s judgment is expected on November.