Photo of Skyworth's rollable OLED TV introduced at CES 2021 online briefing (left) and LG Electronics' rollable OLED TV 'LG Signature OLED R' photo [Captured from Skyworth CES 2021, provided by LG Electronics]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Chinese TV manufacturer Skyworth officially apologized for the controversy over unauthorized use of LG Electronics' rollable TV photos at CES 2021, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition held online last month.
According to related industry sources on the 9th, Skyworth's US branch stated in a recent statement posted on its website, "In the CES 2021 live streaming presentation, we misused images of LG's rollable OLED TV and mistakenly introduced them as part of our company's innovative products," adding, "We acknowledge the inappropriate use of LG OLED TV images and respect all intellectual property rights."
Skyworth also explained, "We have promptly resolved this issue with LG Electronics and taken a series of measures to prevent similar cases from occurring in the future." LG Electronics confirmed Skyworth's apology statement, indicating that the matter is likely to be settled.
On the 13th of last month, during the CES 2021 online briefing, Skyworth used photos of LG Electronics' rollable OLED TV while announcing its upcoming OLED new product. The rollable TV is a product first commercially launched worldwide by LG Electronics in October last year, and LG Electronics is the only company to have commercialized it.
An LG Electronics official said, "There have been cases of imitation products being introduced at offline CES events, but unauthorized use of photos of other companies' products instead of our own is unusual, and it was difficult to verify due to the online nature of the event," adding, "We officially protested to Skyworth and conveyed our intention to respond strongly."
An industry insider said, "Although this issue will be settled with Skyworth's apology, it is necessary to continuously respond strongly to prevent recurrence of similar cases in the future."
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