HSINCHU, May 3 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- AU Optronics Corp. ("AUO") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO) is very pleased with the result that, following the finding by the United States District Court for the District of Delaware ("Court") on February 16, 2010 that LG Display ("LGD") infringed all 4 of the AUO patents asserted at trial, the Court further concluded on April 30, 2010 that AUO did not infringe any of the 4 patents asserted at trial by LGD, indicating that AUO has prevailed in this important patent litigation.
This matter began in December 2006 when LGD of South Korea filed a patent infringement action against Taiwan's AUO and Chi Mei Optoelectronics. AUO filed a counter-claim against LGD thereafter. The case went to trial in June 2009. At the trial, LGD claimed over $690 million dollars of damages from AUO. After an extensive bench trial, the Court concluded that LGD infringed all 4 of AUO's patents, and that AUO did not infringe any of LGD's patents asserted at trial. AUO believes that LGD's demands were outrageous, and is elated that the Court rejected them while at the same time upholding AUO's strong patented technologies and finding infringement of them by LGD.
The 4 AUO patents that the Court found that LGD infringed include: U.S. Patent Nos. 6,778,160, 6,689,629, 7,125,157 and 7,090,506, which patented technologies to help improve response time, improve reliability of LCDs, solve the problem of defects in the displayed images, and provide a very compact structure useful for small handheld devices, respectively. The infringing LGD products cover a wide variety of applications, including LCD panels for TVs, monitors, notebooks, public information displays and mobile phones. A substantial share of products using LGD's LCD panels sold in the US for the damages period through the date of trial are infringing products.
Based on the Court's finding of infringement, AUO will seek an injunction preventing LGD from exporting to and selling in the US products found to have infringed AUO's patented technologies. The Court also concluded that LGD induced infringement of AUO's patents. Based on this ruling, AUO hopes that LGD's customers will immediately cease purchasing any unauthorized infringing products from LGD for sale or use in the US without the need for further court action.
As one of the leading companies in the design, research and development, and manufacturing of TFT-LCDs, AUO 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, AUO Technology Center is Taiwan's largest R&D facility for optoelectronics, and currently houses more than 1,700 dedicated R&D engineers. As of the end of 2009, AUO owns nearly 6,000 patents worldwide, with over 5,500 additional patent applications pending, which places it number 1 among Taiwan's flat panel industry.
ABOUT AU OPTRONICS
AU Optronics Corp. (AUO) is a global leader of thin film transistor liquid crystal display panels (TFT-LCD). AUO is able to provide customers with a full range of panel sizes and comprehensive applications, offering TFT-LCD panels in sizes ranging from 1.2 inches to greater than 65 inches. AUO generated NT$359.3 billion (US$11.2 billion) in sales revenue* in 2009 and now houses a staff of more than 42,000 employees, with global operations in Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the U.S., and Europe. Additionally, AUO is the first pure TFT-LCD manufacturer to be successfully listed at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). AUO extended its market to the green energy industry in late 2008, and formally founded its Solar Photovoltaic Business Unit in October, 2009. For more information, please visit AUO.com.
* 2009 year end revenue converted at an exchange rate of NTD31.95:USD1.
Safe Harbour Notice
AU Optronics Corp. ("AUO" or the "Company") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO), a global leader of TFT-LCD panels, today announced the above news. Except for statements in respect of historical matters, the statements contained in this Release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements were based on our management's expectations, projections and beliefs at the time regarding matters including, among other things, future revenues and costs, financial performance, technology changes, capacity, utilization rates, yields, process and geographical diversification, future expansion plans and business strategy. Such forward looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including risks related to the flat panel display industry, the TFT-LCD market, acceptance of and demand for our products, technological and development risks, competitive factors, and other risks described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in our Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on May 27th, 2009.
