AUO Files Patent Infringement Lawsuits Against Sharp

Taipei, March 10, 2011 (CENS)--AU Optronics Corp. (AUO), the second-largest thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel manufacturer in Taiwan, and its American subsidiary AU Optronics Corporation America recently filed two complaints against Japan's Sharp Corp. and Sharp Electronics Corp. (together "Sharp") for patent infringement.

AUO pointed out that the first complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. In this complaint, AUO alleged that Sharp infringes at least the following patents: US Patent Nos. 6,818,967, 7,057,359, 7,125,157, 7,259,526, 7,317,289, and 7,172,331. The second complaint was filed in the United States Central District of California and alleged that Sharp infringes at least US Patents Nos. 7,771,098, 7,723,728 and 7,101,073.

The alleged infringing products cover a variety of Sharp's LCD products ranging from small to large sizes, including Sharp's Quattron series LCD TVs which AUO believes to infringe at least US Patent No. 7,771,098, a multi-primary color display solution invented by the AUO Technology Center. AUO is seeking an unspecified amount of damages and permanent injunction against the infringing products, among other relieves.

As one of the leading companies in designing, researching, developing, and manufacturing TFT-LCDs, AUO claimed that it is a technology innovator with a strong emphasis on R&D for display technologies. Established in 2002 and located in Taiwan's Hsinchu Science Park, the AUO Technology Center is Taiwan's largest R&D facility for optoelectronics, and currently houses more than 2,000 dedicated R&D engineers.

As of the end of 2010, AUO owns more than 7,500 patents worldwide, with nearly 6,000 additional patent applications pending, making the firm rank No. 1 in terms of patent number in local flat panel display (FPD) industry.