Nokia, AT&T Suing LCD Companies

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Nokia, the world’s #1 cell phone manufacturer, is joining a action lawsuit started by AT&T that alleges that eleven companies conspired together to illegitimately raise the price of LCD displays. Among the alleged conspirators is some big names, including Samsung, LG, Sharp and Hitachi.

The lawsuit alleges that during the timeframe of January 1st, 1996 to December 11th, 2006, that the eleven companies worked together, illegally fixing the prices of the LCD screens. Nokia and AT&T are seeking lots of cash and a legal injunction against the perpetrator.

This is nothing new, as last year, the US Department of Justice hit Sharp and LG with a whopping $565,000,000 fine for price fixing. Ironically, after paying the fine, Sharp’s executive staff took a 30% paycut last year as ‘punishment’ for what happened. Because that was a government case, Nokia and AT&T are free to sue the LCD corporations in a civil case.

Will this lower the price of consumer technology goods? Something tells me it’s doubtful. If LCD prices drop following the lawsuit, the tech companies will likely just take a bigger margin cut on the phones, rather than drop the price for us lowly customers.