A series of vicious court battles between Samsung and LG over the alleged theft of trade secret have ended, with market analysts declaring both to be losers.
The feud began in 2012, when Samsung accused LG Display executives of stealing technology relating to OLED technology.
The most recent battle overturned previous charges that four Samsung Display employees and a chief executive at a LG Display supplier stole LG’s encapsulation technology for sealing OLEDs.
Originally the five were given suspended sentences, but the new ruling found that the information purported to have been stolen, was freely available in academic papers and reference materials for Japanese suppliers.
Meanwhile, this conflict has allowed Chinese manufacturers to steal market share from both companies.
According to Nikkei Asia, over 100 South Korean display engineers have moved to China for better-paying job, with many of these setting up a mass production line at BOE Technology’s OLED factory.
TCL is following suit, expanding OLED production in its Wuhan factory.
Samsung controlled 59.3 per cent of the OLED market in 2021, with LG having a 23 per cent market share, and BOE with 8.7 per cent.