A heated patent dispute between Matsushita and LG Electronics intensified this week as the Tokyo Customs office approved Matsushita's request to ban imports of PDPs (Plasma-Display-Panels) produced by the South Korean company. The decision will authorize custom agents throughout Japan to deny imports of LG's PDPs for two years.

 

Earlier this month, Matsushita, the maker of Panasonic electronics, filed a lawsuit in Tokyo district court against LG Electronics. The suit claims that LG infringed upon Matsushita's patent of a technology used to dissipate heat that is generated when PDPs are activated. The court has yet to issue a verdict on the case.

 

LG Electronics also filed a counter-suit against Matsushita in Seoul Central District Court accusing the Matsushita's South Korean unit of violating its patent on a variety of PDP technologies. LG's lawsuit likewise requests that the South Korean government place import restrictions on Matsushita's products.

 

On November 4, South Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy warned the Japanese Embassy in Seoul that if Japanese authorities halt imports of LG products that the dispute between the two companies could develop into a political problem.