By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter

Japan on Wednesday has suspended imports of plasma display panels (PDPs) made by Samsung SDI in response to a request by Fujitsu.

The injunction measure was taken as Fujitsu appealed to the Tokyo Customs Service to block imports of Samsung PDPs on April 6, claiming the Korean firm had infringed its patents on PDP technologies.

This is the first time ever Japan has suspended the inbound shipment of Korean electronics goods, one of the nation’s major export items.

As a result, the clearance process of Samsung PDP products will be tentatively suspended for around one month, the typical investigation period by the Tokyo Customs Service.

If the Japanese government accepts Fujitsu’s claim, Samsung PDP products will be completely banned from imports and already-sold items will also be collected for return.

In response to the suspension, Samsung didn’t show a sense of urgency, saying ``We are confident that we have the upper hand against Fujitsu.’’

Samsung brought Fujitsu to a California court in February, insisting the Japan’s biggest computer maker’s self-claimed nine patents are invalid.

This month, Fujitsu filed a counter-suit against Samsung in California as well as in a Tokyo Court, in addition to the request for the import ban.

``Fujitsu has claimed 20- to 30-year-old technologies, developed and shared by companies across the world, to be their patents. Moreover, we never adopted such technologies. Maybe Fujitsu is trying to head off our strong challenge through lawsuits,’’ a Samsung SDI spokesman said.

Fujitsu Hitachi Plasma Display, a joint venture between the two giants, controlled 25.1 percent of the world’s PDP market last year, compared with Samsung’s 17.4 percent.

The Samsung spokesman said the firm’s market share soared to 25 percent in the first quarter of this year, probably beating the Japanese rival.

He added even if the Tokyo Customs Service sides with Fujitsu, it is not a big deal because the Japan-bound PDPs account for only around 3 percent of Samsung SDI’s sales.

PDPs are the main components of plasma-display television sets, one of the most rapidly-growing segments of the flat-screen television market along with liquid crystal display panel TVs.

voc200@koreatimes.co.kr