Samsung Display is turning up the heat on Chinese rival BOE, filing a new lawsuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Samsung claims BOE stole trade secrets related to OLED tech, which is, undoubtedly, one of the companyโs biggest strengths. In fact, the best displays we see on the best phones are mostly manufactured by Samsung. Thatโs why the allegations Samsung is making โ if true โ could put BOE in a really bad situation.
Samsung sues BOE (again!) over alleged OLED trade secrets theft
And if you follow tech developments, you already know this isnโt Samsung and BOEโs first run-in. These two display giants have locked horns before, with a previous complaint filed by Samsung at the US ITC in 2023 โ which it won in November 2024. The ruling was reviewed and upheld just recently, confirming Samsungโs victory.
Now, Samsung says BOE used its secret technical documents to build a new OLED factory in Chengdu, China. These documents reportedly include detailed drawings of machines used to make OLED panels. Samsung believes BOE used this information to create micro-OLED displays and try to land orders from big US companies โ possibly including Apple.
Samsung also says BOE hired some of its employees and worked with companies in Samsungโs supply chain to get private information. According to Samsung, this helped BOE compete unfairly in the OLED market. The Korean company is asking the court to award damages for lost profits, as well as the profits BOE made using the stolen information. Itโs also asking for double damages as a penalty.
The lawsuit will be heard by District Judge Rodney Gilstrap and Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne. Both of them are well-known for handling some of the biggest tech patent cases in the US. Judge Gilstrap, in particular, has overseen high-profile disputes like VirnetX v. Apple, which ended with Apple paying hundreds of millions over FaceTime-related patents, and Intel v. VLSI, a landmark case. Judge Payne, meanwhile, has worked closely with Gilstrap on many of these complex cases.
