Teco files countersuit against Sharp

TAIPEI (Kyodo) Taiwan's Teco Electric and Machinery Co. said Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit against Osaka-based Sharp Corp., seeking compensation for loss of business opportunities and damage to its brand.

The move followed the Japanese firm's lawsuit brought early last month with the Tokyo District Court against the Taiwanese company, seeking a court order to halt imports of 20-inch liquid crystal display televisions sold in Japan, which it claims infringe on its patents on LCD technology.

"(Ours) is not an intellectual property infringement lawsuit. We think (Sharp's suit) is a vicious way to prevent the marketing of Teco products," Teco Industrial Product and System Sector Executive George Lien said.

Lien told a Taipei-Tokyo video conference the company is not violating any of Sharp's patents involving LCD panel production and demanded compensation of up to 200 million yen in addition to an open apology from Sharp.

"We are not knocking Sharp down. All we are pursuing is simply fair competition," Lien said, adding his company has "confidence" in the Japanese judicial system.

Last June, Sharp filed for an injunction with the court to halt imports of the Taiwanese LCD TVs, saying it had found the products violate its patents.

But it withdrew the injunction request after a Feb. 16 court session and switched to a suit against Teco instead.