Subsidiary of Hitachi Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against LG Electronics, Inc.

Hitachi Plasma Patent Licensing Co., Ltd. (“HPPL”), one of the subsidiaries of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT)(TOKYO:6501), today announced that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against LG Electronics, Inc. of Seoul, Korea and its subsidiary LG Electronics USA, Inc. (collectively “LGE”) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The complaint alleges that LGE’s plasma display panel (“PDP”) products infringe seven patents owned by HPPL. Through the lawsuit, HPPL seeks not only compensation for money damages, but also a permanent injunction, prohibiting LGE from using the asserted patents, and from importing into or selling LGE’s PDP products in the U.S.

HPPL has been discussing with LG Electronics the terms of an appropriate license for LGE’s PDP products under various relevant patents, including the asserted patents in the infringement lawsuit above. However, because the parties’ evaluations of the patents vastly differ and the licensing discussions have reached an impasse, HPPL filed the lawsuit to resolve the dispute.

HPPL owns and manages a portfolio of patents concerning PDP technology for the benefit of Hitachi.