HDTV (High-Definition TV) maker Amtran Technology said that its existing partnership with panel maker LG Display, including their new joint venture in China's Suzhou, will remain unchanged despite the recent patent infringement suit filed by LG Electronics against Amtran subsidiary Vizio, according to a Taipei Times report on September 26.

Amtran is one of LG Display's major LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel customers, and Amtran's flat-panel TV brand Vizio procures plasma TV panels from LG Display's parent company LG Electronics. Moreover, Amtran also manufactures small-sized LCD TVs for LG Electronics. On September 19 LG Electronics filed a patent infringement suit with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against several HDTV makers, including Vizio, claiming that these companies failed to reach a licensing agreement for the use of LG Electronics' patented digital TV technologies, according to a press release issued by Vizio on September 23. Vizio said that the company is working to solve the dispute with LG Electronics and expected the impacts to be limited.

Earlier in August this year, Amtran and LG Display announced the establishment of a joint venture for TV assembly and LCD module production in Suzhou, China. The new company, named Suzhou Raken Technology, involves an initial investment of some US$20 million, with LG Display holding a 51% stake and Amtran 49%. Amtran stated that the operations of the new company will be unperturbed by the patent dispute between LG Electronics and Vizio, according to the Taipei Times report.