Honeywell, CMO sign technology authorization agreement

Taipei, April 20, 2005 (CENS)--Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. (CMO), Taiwan's No. 3 maker of thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels, recently signed an agreement with Honeywell of the U.S. to get technical authorization from the long-term partner.

CMO president Ho Chao-yang said that his company would get Honeywell's patented technology to further upgrade the brightness and decrease interference of its LCD products. In addition, CMO and Honeywell also agreed to exchange patented technologies developed by the two parties.

Honeywell is a large industrial conglomerate with business scopes encompassing aerospace, turbine engines, automation, building control systems, special chemical fibers, and plastic, electronics, materials, manufacturing etc. The group's annual revenue is about US$26 billion.

According to Ho, the signing of the pact CMO's efforts in upgrading product quality and great respect for other companies' intellectual properties. He also claimed that CMO would constantly develop patented technologies on its own.

Ho pointed out that many international counterparts have signed similar agreements with Honeywell to get its No. 371 patented technology, including LG.Philips LCD Co., Ltd. (LPL), Samsung Electronics of South Korea and NEC, Sharp of Japan. Late last year, in fact, Honeywell took actions in the U.S. to accuse 34 companies around the world of infringing its No. 371 patented technology.