Nokia price-fixing lawsuit against LCD manufacturers

Nokia Corporation, the biggest mobile-phone manufacturer in the world, has filed suits against a number of major makers of liquid-crystal display (LCD) for alleged price-fixing. The liquid-crystal display makers that Nokia has sued include Philips, LG, Sharp, Toshiba, Chunghwa, and Samsung.

Nokia Corporation, based in Espoo, near Helsinki, the capital of the Finland, said in a statement that the suits, filed in November 2009, in the United Kingdom and the United States, followed “investigations by government authorities and similar actions by other companies.”

Nokia, the statement added, has filed suits to recover overcharges that it paid as a result of “cartel activities” which are at present being investigated by governments.

The statement disclosed that some companies and management-level employees have already admitted to having participated in, or have been indicted for, global price-fixing cartels involving components that Nokia has bought.

Nokia said it is concentrating on alleged cartels involving liquid crystal displays that are used in mobile-phone handsets and also cathode ray tubes (CRTs).

The company did not specify how much money it is seeking as damages.

However, according to documents filed with the US District Court for the Northern District of California, Nokia Corporation is demanding damages for products sold between January 1, 2006, and at least December 11, 2006.

Companies – including Sharp, Hitachi and LG and Chunghwa Picture Tubes – have already pleaded guilty to price-fixing on LCD displays and have paid $585 million each in fines, following an investigation led by the United States Department of Justice.

Meanwhile, the European Union is also investigating the alleged price-fixing of liquid crystal displays.

The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, had, on November 26, 2009, accused a few CRT makers – including Philips – of “running cartels in the markets for computer monitors and television sets.”

Nokia, which makes use of LCD technology in its mobile-phones, used to manufacture CRT displays.

Since Nokia sells around 35 million mobile phones a month, even small changes in the prices that the company pays for LCD displays can hugely impact its costs.

Nokia Corporation had said In October 2009 that it was suing Apple for having violated 10 different patents that Nokia owns on the iPhone.

Nokia Corporation said it sold 468 million mobile-phone handsets in 2008 – up by 7% over the sales in 2007.