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By: Richard Del Cazzo
Web site: http://www.hdtv-hdtv.com
Japanese customs officials agreed Wednesday to suspend imports
of plasma display panels made by South Korea's Samsung Electronics
Co. in response to a request by Fujitsu Ltd., a company official
said.
The decision came two weeks after Fujitsu sued Samsung in
Japanese and U.S. courts for allegedly violating 11 of its
patents, seeking an undisclosed amount of damages and an injuction
on imports of the South Korean manufacturer's plasma display
panels.
Fujitsu also filed a request with Japanese customs officials
to block imports until a Japanese court rules on a suit filed
April 6, company spokesman Scott Ikeda said.
Fujitsu, which says it produced the world's first commercial
21-inch full-color plasma display panel, leads the global
market with a share of about 25 percent. Samsung has the second-largest
share, about 20 percent.
Samsung has not commented on Fujitsu's lawsuits. It filed
a lawsuit in February contesting Fujitsu rights to the patents
in federal court in Los Angeles.
Televisions using plasma display panels and other flat-panel
screens are one of the hottest-selling segments in the consumer
electronics market.
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