James Delahunty
23 Feb 2007 14:11
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