International multimedia news agency Reuters (News - Alert) reports that technology giant Hewlett-Packard Co.  is suing Taiwanese LCD panel maker AU Optronics. According to the court filing, as per the report, HP is accusing the Taiwanese LCD maker of conspiring to fix the prices of thin-film liquid crystal display (LCD) display panels.

Reuters wrote that this complaint, which seeks damages from AU Optronics (News - Alert) for violations of antitrust laws, was filed under seal to protect HP's confidential information.  In essence, according to a document filed in federal court in San Francisco by Jun Kim, HP's vice president and general manager for the Displays Business Unit, the complaint was made under seal to protect HP’s proprietary process for procuring LCD panels from reaching competitors.

Last year, according to Reuters, the U.S. Justice Department had accused AU Optronics executives of participating in a group meeting with other industry officials, who met regularly in Taipei hotel rooms and restaurants, to discuss and agree on prices, from 2001 to 2006.

Similarly, earlier this month, a Korean regulator also accused AU Optronics of breaching the competition law, along with other LCD makers such as Taiwan's Chimei Innolux, reports Yahoo! news.

According to Reuters reporters Sakthi Prasad and Clare Jim, lawsuits stemming from patent disputes are common in the technology sector as makers seek to protect their newest technologies from being exploited by rivals. But, most are settled out of court for several reasons. One major factor is to avoid long delays so that the patent under dispute does not become obsolete by the time the case is over, wrote Yahoo! news.

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