Nanoco widens its litigation against Samsung with new lawsuit in Germany

Manchester-based Nanoco has filed a lawsuit against tech giant Samsung in Germany, and is considering further cases in other territories where Samsung has significant sales.

Nanoco, a developer of materials used in the manufacture of monitors and TV screens, said the funder of its current legal action against Samsung in the US has agreed an expanded budget on similar commercial terms.

The action relates to alleged infringement by Samsung of Nanoco’s intellectual property.

It is preparing for a trial against Samsung in a Texas court, starting on September 12, and scheduled to last one week.

Nanoco revealed the latest lawsuit against Samsung in a stock exchange statement today (August 23).

It said the German action is based on a sister patent to one of the patents in the US litigation.

Germany is one of the largest European markets for the sale of high-end televisions. Nanoco said this highly focused approach will allow it to pursue the litigation more quickly and at a lower cost.

Nanoco said it is actively reviewing options for similar litigation in other territories where its unique and world leading technology has been patented and where Samsung is believed to have significant sales.

Brian Tenner, Nanoco chief executive, said: “We have been clear from the beginning that Nanoco’s IP portfolio is global in nature and will be defended as such.

“We continue to benefit from the support of our funder and of the lead legal team at Mintz. Their stance reflects their confidence in the strength of our case globally.”

He added: “Expanding our action at this time reflects our confidence in the case in the US.

“It is also noteworthy that the standard remedy under German law is for an injunction and removal of infringing products from sale which would effectively stop Samsung from selling infringing products unless a financial settlement was agreed between the parties.

“The litigation process in Germany also tends to be faster which will also help in our pursuit of fair value for shareholders.”

Last week Nanoco revealed that, at a pre-trial hearing in Texas, the judge ruled on a number of motions that had been submitted by Nanoco and Samsung.

These included four motions by Samsung, which the judge rejected, and another which he dismissed.

Nanoco said a number of other motions were ruled on, with no material surprises or disappointments for the group.

Mr Tenner said last week: “We are in a strong position – the net result of rulings on the pre-trial conference motions preserve all of Nanoco’s damages models and their expert testimony.”