O2 Micro International Limited Lost the Lawsuit
2016/11/11 TaiwanO2 Micro International Limited accused Sharp Corporation and its Taiwanese branch Sharp Corporation (Taiwan), an affiliate of the Sampo Corporation, of using O2 Micro’s Patented invention “Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp Driving Circuit” in their LCD television without obtaining O2’s consent. O2 Micro requested the companies to stop the production, manufacture and sales of these products and claimed around NT 7.88 million dollars as compensation. However, the Intellectual Property Court has ruled against O2 Micro International Limited.
In the verdict, the Court pointed out that the cold cathode fluorescent lamp driving circuit employed in Sharp’s LCD television does not meet the limitation set out in the context of claim 1 of O2 Micro’s invention, therefore, does not constitute literal infringement. Furthermore, the technical method employed is essentially different than the Patent, therefore, does not constitute infringement under Doctrine of Equivalents.
The Full Court felt that O2 Micro could not provide evidence that the driving circuit in the LCD televisions manufactured and sold by the Sharp corporations falls within the claim of O2’s Patent, therefore, has rejected the appeal filed by O2 Micro International Limited.
Organized and translated by Akina Pan
International Affairs
