The supplier sold the technology for $14 million to two Chinese companies.
Samsung bendable screen technology has been stolen, and 11 people were charged for the crime on Thursday. The information was allegedly sold to two Chinese companies. The suspects are being accused of stealing tech secrets from Samsung (SSNLF). The case is being handled by the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office of South Korea.
The case
Samsung, the South Korean leading tech company, invested around $130 million during six years to develop the bendable screen. And they have hinted how the game would change in a conference earlier this month, where they showed images of a new folding smartphone.
This finding occurred during a time where the competition to come up with new technology is intensifying. Every company wants to come up with the next big thing, and Samsung seemed to have found it. They gave the blueprints to a supplier who sold the drawings and schematics of the panels, which are believed to be the 3D lamination technology for curved OLEDs, to the Chinese firms for nearly $14 million.
The prosecutors asked for Interpol’s help because they seem not to be able to find the Chinese individuals involved to interrogate them. The trial date is yet to be defined. And only three of the eleven people indicted have been detained.
The stolen technology its the same used in TVs, monitors and the Galaxy Note 9. But the company also provided OLED screens for smartphones like Apple iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Galaxy S9. The actions of the supplier are a clear-cut violation of non-disclosure agreement, and Samsung is set on protecting this new technology that took them so much effort to develop.
Source: CNN
