Audio Video News

Japan-based Sharp confirmed in a terse statement posted on its website that the brand will re-enter the TV business in the U.S. during the second half of the year under a partnership with Hong Kong-based Hisense.

Sharp had signed a five-year licensing deal with Hisense in 2015 but made an unsuccessful bid to buy back the brand after its acquisition by Foxconn in 2017, according to a report in TWICE. Sharp then sued Hisense claiming patent violations and charging that Hisense was hurting the brand by marketing lesser-quality TVs.

The legal action was dropped last year and Sharp has effectively regained the license for its own TV brand, according to Reuters.

The official Sharp statement noted that the company “will further accelerate transformation of its business to innovate the world with 8K/4K Ecosystem + 5G and AIoT.”