Apr 19 2006
Eastman Kodak Company has announced a licensing agreement with Univision Technology of Taiwan. Univision plans to incorporate Kodak’s organic display technology in future generation flat panel passive-matrix displays. To date, more than 15 companies have licensed organic display technology from Kodak.
“Forming a strategic alliance with a leading company such as Kodak further strengthens Univision’s position as one of the world’s leading OLED producers,” said Dr. Lei Ping Lai, President of Univision. “With 200 patents granted and pending, Univision pays close attention to intellectual property (IP) and is building a strong IP portfolio. This licensing agreement with Kodak is one of Univision’s key intellectual property strategies. By proactively forming strategic alliances, Univision will further enhance its intellectual property position and increase its global competitiveness.”
Univision Technology, Inc., established in July 2000 in Hsinchu, the center of Taiwan’s High Technology district, develops, manufactures, and markets OLED display solutions. With their world-class technology, Univision is driving to deliver high quality flat panel displays to the global market.
“This agreement between Kodak and Univision validates the utility of Kodak display technology for a variety of applications, and we’re delighted that Univision has chosen Kodak as a provider,” said Andrew Sculley, general manager, OLED Systems and vice president, Kodak Display Business. “ Key manufacturers like Univision have the capability and technological know-how to fully utilize our intellectual property to help accelerate the commercialization of OLED technology.”
Organic solid-state displays offer bright, sharp images that are viewable from almost any angle. OLED displays comprise thin films of organic materials that emit light when stimulated with an electrical charge. Unlike conventional liquid crystal displays, OLED displays do not require a backlight. Benefits over conventional technologies include extended color gamut, higher contrast, wider viewing angle for superb readability in most lighting conditions, faster response time to support crisp streaming video, and thinner design for better ergonomics. These benefits provide direct advantages for a variety of applications such as digital cameras, portable media players, mobile phones, PDAs and other devices.
The royalty-bearing license enables Univision to use Kodak technology for passive-matrix OLED modules in a variety of flat panel display applications. The agreement also gives Univision the opportunity to purchase Kodak’s patented OLED materials for use in manufacturing displays.
http://www.kodak.com/go/display