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Canon loses court case over SED technology

23 February 2007 14:11 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 3 comments

A U.S. court has ruled against Canon Inc. in a patent dispute over technology used in surface-conduction electron-emitter displays (SED). The court ruled that Canon violated a license agreement with Nano-Proprietary Inc. Canon had hoped to enter the $84 billion market for flat-panel TVs in partnership with Toshiba. However, it was Toshiba's involvement that sparked the dispute with Nano-Proprietary.

Nano-Proprietary signed a license agreement with Canon in 1999. However, since Canon's main business is copiers and digital cameras, the company reached out to Toshiba for expertise in televisions. The two setup a joint venture, SED Ltd., but Nano-Proprietary claimed the license deal struck in 1999 did not apply to Toshiba.

The disagreement forced Canon to buy out Toshiba's shares in SED Ltd., but that was note enough to resolve the litigation. "Canon's recent restructuring of SED as a wholly owned subsidiary is ineffective to prevent termination because this effort to cure the breach was not undertaken within a reasonable time," Judge Samuel Sparks said in the ruling. "It occurred more than a year and a half after Canon was on notice of its breach."

The trial will now move to assess the damages due to Nano-Proprietary, and a new licensing deal may materialize.

Source:
Reuters

Permalink to this article

RD&IP aim to reduce costs of FED and SED (6 October 2007)

Canon plans to appeal SED decision (30 March 2007)

Canon's loss of SED tech patent license may cost it millions (28 February 2007)

Toshiba's SED technology faces further delays (3 January 2007)

Canon to team up with Toshiba in flat panel TV market (3 October 2006)

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Discuss this article!
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 24 February 2007 10:25
Strange bedfellows. Always be careful who you are dealing with. [ + quote]
rihgt682 (Senior Member) 24 February 2007 12:44
let's fuc#ing face it, we're never going to get SED. That's why i got sick of waiting and got LCD a year and half ago. I been waiting for this baby ever seen they relased news about. But they always delay. Screw em. People who's waiting for this get plasma or LCD. Cause we'll never know when this will come out. LCD is great t.v btw. [ + quote]
Dela (Staff Member) 25 February 2007 6:49
trust me, it is not canon's and wasn't toshiba's intention to have the release of SED delayed. Thats the legal system for you man, although Canon could have moved earlier to fix the problem Nano-Proprietary has with Toshiba's involvement. [ + quote]