Samsung sues LG over OLED, says patents 'lack innovation'

Samsung has fired a new legal salvo back at LG, as the fight over OLED patents continues.

The patent war between LG and Samsung may not be as high profile as the Samsung vs. Apple stoush, but over in Korea the legal battle lines are being well and truly drawn.

Back at the start of September, Samsung filed an injunction against LG at Seoul Central District Court over alleged tech leaks regarding 18 "confidential technologies" concerning its OLED screens. At the time, Samsung was asking for 1 billion won (AUS$862,000) for each use of the confidential tech.

At the end of September, LG countered by filing a patent-infringement suit against Samsung, alleging that the company had violated seven of its OLED patents.

Now, in what is increasingly resembling a turn-based combat game, Samsung has taken its turn, filing a suit with an intellectual property tribunal in Korea in an attempt to invalidate LG's patents on the grounds that they "lack innovation", according to the Yonhap News Agency.

If successful, LG would lose seven of its patents, although it's currently unclear what technologies they directly relate to.

OLED is regarded by some industry experts as one of the most important advancements in panel technology for some time, and a large improvement over existing plasma and LCD screens.

Both LG and Samsung were expected to be launching OLED TV panels into the Australian market this year, with LG as early as October. While it's not clear whether the Korean court case is having any effect on this, current speculation has OLED delayed until 2013.