Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK), a pioneer in organic light emitting diode technology (OLED), today announced a cross licensing agreement with Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) and Chi Mei EL (CMEL) of Taiwan. CMEL plans to incorporate Kodak’s active matrix OLED display technology in small panel, mobile displays.
“This agreement between Kodak, CMO and CMEL validates that the active matrix OLED industry continues to gain substantial momentum, and is the future for brilliant displays,” said Mary Jane Hellyar, President, Kodak Display Business, and Senior Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. “Kodak has much to offer in the active matrix OLED space in intellectual property, low-cost strategic manufacturing know-how, and world class performing materials for OLED products.”
The license, which is royalty bearing to Kodak, enables CMEL to use Kodak technology for active matrix OLED modules in a variety of small to medium size display applications such as mobile phones, digital cameras and portable media players. The agreement also enables CMEL to purchase Kodak’s patented OLED materials for use in manufacturing displays. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Organic light emitting diode displays offer a bright, full-motion image display that is viewable from a very wide angle. The displays contain special organic thin-film materials that emit light when stimulated by an electrical charge. Recent advances now enable OLED displays to emit light across the full color spectrum of common NTSC or sRGB digital standards. Benefits over conventional display technologies include higher contrast, fast response time that can deliver blur-free video motion, industry-leading (180-degree) viewing angle, thinner design for better ergonomics, and potentially lower manufacturing costs.
Pioneered by Kodak in the late 1980s, OLED technology and its practical applications have generated more than 1,800 issued and pending Kodak patents worldwide.
About Eastman Kodak Company
Kodak is the world’s foremost imaging innovator. With sales of $10.7 billion in 2006, the company is committed to a digitally oriented growth strategy focused on helping people better use meaningful images and information in their life and work. Consumers use Kodak’s system of digital and traditional products and services to take, print and share their pictures anytime, anywhere; Businesses effectively communicate with customers worldwide using Kodak solutions for prepress, conventional and digital printing and document imaging; and Creative Professionals rely on Kodak technology to uniquely tell their story through moving or still images.
More information about Kodak (NYSE: EK) is available at http://www.kodak.com.
About Chi Mei EL Corporation (CMEL)
Chi Mei EL Corporation (CMEL), a subsidiary of Chi Mei Optoelectronics, headquartered at the Southern Taiwan Science Park, Taiwan, is a manufacturer of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display products. Using its own mature product development capabilities and advanced OLED process technology, as well as leveraging the unique strengths of its parent CMO, CMEL is able to efficiently mass produce state-of-the-art OLED products for a wide range of applications.
About Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO)
Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO), headquartered at the Southern Taiwan Science Park, Taiwan, is a leading worldwide manufacturer of TFT-LCD display products. CMO was founded in 1998 and seeks to combine superior TFT-LCD technology with cost-effective expansion to serve a global, diversified customer base. Its key products include large-size TFT-LCD panels for notebooks, desktop monitors, and TV applications. The company has 25,000 employees worldwide and is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE). In 2006, CMO shipped 33.2-million TFT-LCD’s and had revenues of U.S. $5.8 billion.
