Audio Video News

The long-running legal battle over the SED display took yet another turn recently when a federal court upheld Canon's license to manufacture SED TVs based on technology owned by Texas-based Nano Proprietary. However, it takes time to get production lines up and running--and the legal saga may not be over. So Canon's latest victory is unlikely to bring SED to market anytime soon.

The Fifth Circuit appeals court overturned the West Texas district court's ruling that Canon had violated the contract by joint-venturing with Toshiba to make SED TVs in 2006. According to the text of the latest decision (PDF): "Simply put, Nano was not entitled to terminate the license because it contracted for an irrevocable and perpetual license. At the time of material breach, Nano was entitled to sue Canon under any available form of relief, but termination of the PLA was not permissible."

A previous court decision had also found that Canon owed no damages. If Nano chooses to continue this curiously self-defeating legal battle, its next stop is the U.S. Supreme Court.

SED stands for Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display. Though based on roughly the same technology as cathode ray tubes, it uses a far flatter tube plus a multi-part emitter in lieu of the CRT's single electron gun. Sony and Motorola plan to bring the similar FED display to market in 2009. It also uses an ultra-flat tube, though its inner workings are different enough from SED to avoid hassles with Nano.