Trademark Registration Battle
Following LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics has recently applied to register "QNED" as a trademark at home and abroad, raising speculation that the two companies may wage a naming war in the future.
Samsung Display filed for the registration of three trademarks -- QNED, NED, and QDNED -- with the Korean Intellectual Property Office from Sept. 23 to 25. On Sept. 25 and 28, it applied for the registration of QNED as a trademark in the United States, Europe and Australia.
Samsung Display said the trademark might be used for 20 products, including LED display devices, OLED display panels, displays for smartphones, TVs, TV displays, and video monitors.
"We are currently studying various next-generation technologies based on quantum dots and applied for trademark registration as part of these efforts," said a Samsung Display official.
QNED technology is known as a next-generation display technology. QNED stands for quantum nano-emitting diode. It uses a long stick-shaped blue LED called "Nanorod" as a light emitting device. The QNED technology combines the strengths of OLED and QD technologies, such as long life and being free from burn-in.
LG Electronics filed for the registration of QNED as a trademark with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Sept. 7, about two weeks ahead of Samsung. It also applied for the registration of the trademark in three regions -- the United States, the European Union and Australia. Regarding LG Electronics' application for QNED trademark registration, industry insiders believe that it was a move to keep its competitors in check. "Companies sometimes employ a strategy to preempt trademarks as they do not know when the related technologies are commercialized," said an industry watcher.