Canon sued over carbon TVs

Nano-Proprietary has filed a suit against Canon in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Texas, alleging that the surface conduction electron emitter display (SED) televisions that Canon plans to release violates a licensing agreement signed between the Japanese giant and Nano-Proprietary in 1999.

In these TVs, an array of carbon nanotubes, or similar structures, fire electrons at a screen to create images. The TVs are supposed to be brighter, crisper and thinner than conventional TVs.

Canon and Toshiba formed a joint venture to produce SED panels in 2004 and both plan to come out with these TVs in 2006. Nano-Proprietary alleges that its licensing agreement with Canon doesn't allow Canon to transfer the rights of the licensing agreement to the joint venture.