Universal Display Corp. announced that the Japanese IP High Court delivered a decision reversing the Japanese Patent Office’s (JPO) prior invalidation of the broad claims in the Company’s Japanese Patent No. JP-4511024 (the JP ‘024 patent). The matter was remanded back to the JPO for further consideration consistent with the IP High Court’s ruling.

The JPO’s prior decision, on May 10, 2012, confirmed the novelty of Universal Display’s basic invention in JP ‘024, but invalidated the broad claims. This was in response to Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.’s (SEL) June 2011 request for a complete invalidation of JP ‘024. With the belief that the JPO’s decision regarding the broad claims was erroneous, Universal Display appealed the decision to the Japanese IP High Court.

Universal Display Corp.'s phosphorous OLED design. (LEDinside/  Universal Display Corp.)

“We are pleased that the Japanese IP High Court recognized the novelty of our phosphorescent patent and confirmed our belief in the validity of JP ‘024’s broad claims,” said Steven Abramson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Display Corporation.

JP ‘024 is one of more than sixty patents issued worldwide that cover four early fundamental phosphorescent OLED inventions developed at Princeton University and the University of Southern California, which are exclusively licensed to Universal Display Corporation. Universal Display’s basic phosphorescent patents encompass organic light emitting devices that produce electroluminescence using an emissive layer comprised of a phosphorescent material.

UDC is committed to increasing the value of and defending its intellectual property portfolio by building upon and around its core fundamental phosphorescent patent families. The Company has a growing portfolio of over 3,000 issued and pending OLED device, architecture and material patents worldwide. This extensive IP framework is designed not only to fortify Universal Display’s licensing and materials business model beyond 2020, but to help ensure that the trajectory of the Company’s future will not be defined by any one patent or decision, favorable or unfavorable.

Universal Display Corporation notes that oppositions against issued and pending patents are common and decisions by patent tribunals are subject to further review and consideration. In addition, because of the application of different rules and regulations in different countries, and the fact that each patent in each jurisdiction represents a unique and distinct set of rights, a specific outcome in one jurisdiction may not be indicative of the likely outcome of similar challenges in other jurisdictions or the likelihood of such proceedings in other countries.

To see how Universal Display is changing the face of the display and lighting industries with its UniversalPHOLED®, white OLED and flexible OLED technologies, please visit the company at www.udcoled.com.