Samsung and LG’s display units have been battling it out in courts since 2010, with lawsuits flying from both sides alleging everything from patent violations to stolen technology secrets related to OLED panels. Although there’s been some speculation that their feud could be moving towards a resolution soon, today things escalated even further with law enforcement officers in South Korea raiding Samsung’s headquarters.
Bloomberg reports police are investigating whether partners of LG Display leaked technology secrets and whether Samsung is involved in any way. The former had already admitted last year to six of its employees being involved in the possible misappropriation of OLED technology secrets from Samsung. Nevertheless, the company contended that the information in question was widely known in the industry rather than being trade secrets.
It's currently not clear what came of the raid, but LG officials have clarified that the company didn’t take part in the investigation, as “the police have made the [theft] allegation themselves.” For its part, Samsung said: "We have no reason to steal other companies’ technology, as we have the world’s best OLED technology.”
As two of the world’s biggest flat-panel display makers, Samsung and LG are banking on OLED panels to boost slowing TV sales. Neither has released an OLED product in the US yet, although the latter has already announced a 55-inch model arriving in three markets soon with a starting price of around $12,000.
