By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
Vizio's legal victory against its Japanese rival in flat-screen TVs is expected to make a room for South Korean parts suppliers to keep trading with the budget American TV maker.
"Vizio will keep buying components for flat-screen television sets from South Korean parts suppliers as the legal battle is expected to end on our side," Vizio said in a statement Friday.
Vizio is a leading U.S. TV maker selling less-pricey products. It buys some 1 trillion won or $800 million worth of components for TVs from Korean parts suppliers.
The remarks came after the Irvine-based company won a United States Customs and Border Protection Agency ruling that all of its current models of TVs don't infringe on a patent held by Japan's Funai Electric.
Funai, which sells TVs under the brands Emerson, Sylvania and Symphonic, has been buying TV patents and using them to get more money out of competitors.
Vizio has repeatedly said companies like Funai are unfairly targeting the TV maker because of its success over the years.