Patently Apple reported back on January 30, 2023 that Samsung sent an indirect warning to BOE via a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). We followed-up with a report in April confirming that the U.S. ITC had launched a formal investigation into BOE Display's possible infringement of Samsung's OLED patents.

It's being reported this morning that China's top display panel manufacturer BOE Technology Group has slapped rival Samsung Electronics with a series of patent-infringement lawsuits, ratcheting up the intellectual property dispute between the two major Apple suppliers ahead of the launch of new iPhones later this year.

Beijing-based BOE and two of its subsidiaries recently filed six lawsuits against Samsung and its five Chinese entities – mostly display panel and semiconductor companies – at the Chongqing No 1 Intermediate People’s Court in southwestern China. All of their lawsuits are expected to be heard by the Chongqing court next Thursday, with a follow-up hearing set for August next year.

The legal actions taken by Shenzhen-listed BOE, whose largest shareholder is an asset management firm under the Beijing municipal government, represent the Chinese tech company’s first salvo against Samsung, which had instigated a trade dispute last year. For more, read the South China Morning Post report.

Korea's tech site 'The Elec' has chosen to view the patent war differently. The site views that the nature of the Chinese government's proxy war against South Korea is because of their closer relationship with the United States.

The Elec's report in-part took a different take on the matter by providing some additional background information not revealed by others  covering this story. According to The Elec, the chairman of BOE in China visited Korea last month without stopping by Samsung Electronics, a major customer.

It is presumed that the reason for this is the fact that BOE recently filed a patent lawsuit against Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display in China. At the end of last year, Samsung Display filed a patent infringement investigation targeting BOE with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) for repair organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) imported and sold in the US. In the industry, there are observations that the patent lawsuit between the two companies will escalate beyond nerve warfare.

With BOE filing their patent lawsuit directly against Samsung Display and others, Samsung Display has now gained a reason to expand their fight. Since BOE, a state-run company, has an advantage in the dispute with China, Samsung Display is expected to review in earnest a response strategy that can be deployed in the rest of the world except China. Although it will be difficult for Samsung Display to win against BOE in China, there is a prospect that the dispute may develop in the direction Samsung Display hoped.

Some in the industry have interpreted that the Chinese government is launching a proxy war through the BOE in response to the recent appearance of the South Korean government getting closer to the US government amidst the ongoing trade dispute between the US and China for several years. In Chinese civil cases, the court system adopts the 4th grade, 2nd trial system. China's courts consist of four levels of courts: primary courts, intermediate courts, high courts, and the highest courts. Since the BOE filed a lawsuit in the intermediate court this time, the related cases will all end when the higher court decides. For more, read the full report by The Elec.

On January 04, 2023, prior to Samsung launching their formal complaint to the U.S. International Trade Commission on January 30th, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo made a bold prediction that China's BOE would overtake Samsung and be the number one OLED supplier for the iPhone.

Kuo's first research point stated: BOE has beaten Samsung and secured most 2H23 new iPhone 15 and 15 Plus display orders. If development and production proceed smoothly over the next few months, BOE will become the largest display supplier for the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, with a market share of around 70% (compared to Samsung’s 30%).

I don't know how else to interpret Samsung's swift action weeks later with their complaint  with the U.S. ITC other than it being a move to block BOE from winning over Apple's iPhone business.

Apple needs a steady supply of OLED displays and a patent war would be something that Apple would like to avoid.

Did Kuo get it wrong? Did Kuo give Samsung too much time to stop BOE's plan of overtaking Samsung as the lead supplier? While we may never know the answers to those questions, it's pretty clear that a nasty patent war is now underway that's likely to expand before cooler heads prevail.

The Korean Government considers advanced displays to be a protected industry for the health of the nation. So this fight will be fought hard to secure it remains a top supplier of advanced displays for Apple and the industry as a whole.

In the Bigger Picture

In the bigger picture, experts ask US officials to view display industry as key national security asset amid China's growing influence. "The Biden administration is now viewing semiconductors and displays as important engines of economic competitiveness and pillars of national security, because bulking up the manufacturing capacity of these parts creates new jobs and offers value-focused growth opportunities. But the display industry is also following the semiconductor industry in becoming a significant high-tech industry with only a few industry players ― most of which are based in Korea, Taiwan and Japan ― which have proven manufacturing capability," a senior trade ministry official told The Korea Times. There's a lot more about this issue in that June 2022 article that should be read by those interested in the patent war that is about to break wide open. You could check it out here.