Two industrial manufacturers, Guardian Industries Corp. and Honeywell International Inc., have sued dozens of companies in the global PC and video display businesses in a U.S. federal court to try to recoup royalties on liquid-crystal technology. Guardian Industries, a maker of industrial glass, and Honeywell, known for making weapons systems, assert in filings in the U.S. District Court in Delaware that their intellectual property for liquid crystal displays, used in notebook computers, TVs, and cellular phones, have been infringed.
Taiwan and South Korea are the two primary centers of LCD production, which is growing rapidly as demand for LCD-based televisions rises. The lawsuits target the LCD industry directly, but also assert claims against companies that incorporate LCDs into final electronic products. Jin Kim, the director LCD market research for research firm DisplaySearch, said the LCD business largely avoided patent lawsuits through its earlier years, but has attracted litigants as the business blossomed into a $40 billion market.