經濟日報：日本新力與夏普在政府一聲令下，攜手合蓋面板廠，台灣LCD產業整合談了很多年，政府都使不上力，原因為何？
陳瑞聰：哈哈，如果簡單用一句話形容，「台灣是打不死的蟑螂」，日本可能因為社會與各方面的成本都很高，不整合就沒有活路。
Sharp to Set Up LCD UnitOsaka, March 24 (Jiji Press)--Sharp Corp. said Tuesday it will establish a subsidiary on April 1 to prepare for joint production of liquid crystal display panels with Sony Corp. .Sony plans to join in the subsidiary, Sharp Display Products Corp., now capitalized at 100 million yen, at a later date.Initially, Sharp and Sony planned to establish an LCD joint venture in April 2009. But they postponed it until March 2010 to cope with falling demand.The two companies agreed in February last year to set up the joint venture by spinning off a plant that Sharp is building in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan.
an 26, 2009, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) supported Samsung's claim that Sharp infringed on two of Samsung's patents. The ITC issued a tentative ruling that orders Sharp to stop importing and selling its LCD-related components for LCD TVs, notebook PCs and mobile phones as well as such end products in the US. Six ITC members will start investigating the tentative ruling from now.Sharp在2009/1/30東京的官司打贏Samsung。Samsung被認定侵犯Sharp的No. 3872798專利。Sharp追成1:1平手。
Sharp claimed that the LCD module included in the Samsung Electronics' 40-inch LCD TV and the 19- and 30-inch LCD monitors infringe on three of Sharp's patents (No. 3872798, 3901721 and 3744714) related to technologies to realize wide viewing angles, enhance response speeds, etc. The court ruled that Samsung infringed on patent No. 3872798.2009年3月20日，Samsung宣稱在東京的專利訴訟獲勝。以下是WSJ Asia（2009/03/23）的報導：
Samsung Electronics Co. said it has won a liquid-crystal-display patent dispute against Sharp Corp. in Japan. A Tokyo court upheld a Samsung Electronics' countersuit filed last June that claimed that Sharp LCD TV-set products infringed on Samsung's patents, a Samsung spokeswoman said Friday. Sharp had sued Samsung in late 2007, alleging that the South Korean electronics maker infringed Sharp's patents. A Sharp spokeswoman declined to comment. Patent-infringement lawsuits are common in the highly competitive flat-panel display industry.
Samsung filed this lawsuit in June 2008, claiming that Sharp infringed on Samsung's patents. The Tokyo District Court found Sharp's LCD TV module to have infringed on Samsung's Japanese patent 3,625,598 on "a LCD module manufacturing technology" and ordered Sharp to halt its production, marketing, import and export of its "LC-32D10" LCD TV, which uses the module in question, as well as to dispose of the inventory of the TV.LC-32D10是Sharp 2008年的日本國內熱銷機種，佔總體LCD TV銷售比例的2.4%，在32吋級別的佔有率為7.3%：
 中國計劃在上海西南部的莘莊工業園區實施的液晶生產集群項目的整體構想。SVA考慮引進第六代、第八代底板生產線，目前已拿到工廠用地。圖片是《日經微器件》在“FPD China 2008”上拍攝的。框線、箭頭以及說明文字由《日經微器件》添加 |
［東京 ２３日 ロイター］ シャープ(6753.T: 株価, ニュース, レポート)は中国大手電気メーカーと提携し、液晶テレビ用パネルを現地生産する方向で調整に入った、と日経新聞２１日付朝刊は報じた。シャープは同日、「当社から発表したものではない」とのコメントを発表している。
シャープの２０日終値は前営業日１０円安の６９１円。
而對上廣電來說，去年9月底本來已經要自己搞六代廠，但因為資金與技術都沒著落，因此又暫緩。這回之所以能跟夏普談到接近拍板的地步，多少有點時勢造英雄的味道。
美國司法部15日表示，包括前董事長林鎮弘在內的三位台灣華映公司高級主管與一位南韓LG公司的主管，已同意為共謀操縱晶片價格的罪行在美國服刑。司法部的聲明說，LG Display和中華映管的這幾位主管將各支付2萬到5萬美元(約台幣66萬6000元到166萬5000元)的罰金，並服刑6到9個月。聲明指出，他們已對共謀操縱全球LCD面板價格的指控認罪；LCD面板主要用於電腦、手機與其他電子裝置上。負責反托辣斯部門的司法部代理助理部長黛波拉葛薩說：「這是台灣公民因為侵犯反托辣斯法，必須在美國服刑的第一個案例。」(These cases involve the first Taiwanese nationals to face imprisonment in the United States for an antitrust offense.)
她說：「司法部會致力讓所有傷害美國消費者權益的陰謀者付出代價，不論他們住在哪裡，或是在哪裡犯罪。」(The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable all conspirators who harm American consumers, no matter where they live or where they commit the crime.)可能必須在美國服刑的這四位電子業主管，分別是華映公司前董事長林鎮弘、目前仍然在職的劉治軍與李學龍，以及LG公司的鄭章徐(譯音)。司法部表示，這些人在2001到2006年之間，和其他未指名的LCD面板製造商員工，共謀以操縱價格的手段「壓制與消除」競爭。這項認罪協商仍需獲得舊金山的美國地方法院同意。
"These are the first individuals to plead guilty to a charge of fixing prices in this active investigation into antitrust violations in the TFT-LCD industry," said Scott D. Hammond, the Antitrust Division’s Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement. "We will continue in our efforts to bring to justice other domestic and foreign-based executives who were involved with fixing TFT-LCD prices."
Anyone with information concerning illegal conduct in the TFT-LCD industry is urged to call the San Francisco Field Office of the Antitrust Division at 415-436-6660.美國司法部正積極地擴大戰果，並幫四位主管找牢友。想要幫忙找牢友的人，可以打這支電話415-436-6660。
華映表示，反托拉斯法審判分為公司部分和個人部份分開處理。公司部分日前已經認罪和解，處以罰金6500萬美元。這次是針對個人部份進行裁決，至於個人要不要接受是後續的階段，但也是委託律師處理。華映三位主管的命運交錯。
美國司法部今天宣佈一波新的面板股起跌波段已經展開。
LG Display、Sharp、與華映三家被美國司法部指控有合謀決定面板價格、互相提供銷售資料等行為，影響Dell、Apple、Motorola等美國電子製造商，時間從2001年到2006年（司法部的新聞稿）。罰款金額是根據公司的營業額決定的。
從司法部的新聞稿中，提到LG與華映因為以下行為被罰：
靠！看來是罪證確鑿，price quotation、Meeting records應該是決定性證據。
Sharp的部份有點不一樣：
Sharp參與的是雙邊會議決定價格。
綜合來看，只要面板廠商參與如DisplaySearch之類的研討會，無論是在何地舉辦，只要討論或公佈公司產品的報價，都可能被控有合謀動機。
美國司法部的判決會接連牽動其他國家的price fixed調查，看來面板業的這個寒冬真的很難熬。
看一下11/13台灣面板廠的台股收盤價，看看這些價格，真是銷魂：
至於Sharp與LPL的ADR表現：
來看看各家的反應。
華映今天發佈在公開資訊觀測站的聲明：
見鬼了！華映早就提列好罰金費用？
Sharp則是提列當季特別損失，並且本季部份高層人員減薪10-30%：
Japan's Sharp Corp (6753.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday it will book a $120 million fine payment over a U.S. cartel case as a special loss in the current quarter and cut some executives' pays by 10-30 percent for three months
LG Display被罰的金額高達400 million美金，創美國司法部所罰的第二高金額。LPL也是提列當季損失：
This will have a temporary impact on our fourth-quarter earnings but will remove uncertainties in the future.
更多新聞可以查Google News。
2008-11-13 12:24
美國司法部今天宣布，包括台灣中華映管股份有限公司、韓國樂喜金星顯示器（LG Display），以及日本夏普公司在內的三家電子產品製造廠商，因承認針對液晶顯示面板合謀定價，在與控方達成認罪協議後，被處以合計五億八千五百萬美元罰金。 這項案件是在舊金山聯邦地方法院提出，由華盛頓司法部的反托拉斯助理檢察長做出宣布。
其中，LG同意付出四億美元罰金，是反托拉斯部門歷來裁量的第二高罰金。根據司法部聲明指出，LG承認自二零零一年至二零零六年間，參與液晶顯示面板在世界銷售的合謀定價。
中華映管也因為在五年期間，參與LG與其他廠商在全世界銷售液晶顯示面板的合謀定價，同意付六千五百萬美元罰金。
司法部指出，LG和中華映管被控在台灣、韓國、美國等地，參與合謀定價的會議與討論，並交換液晶顯示面板的銷售資訊，以監控價格。
夏普公司則因為參與三項合謀定價案同意付一億兩千萬美元的罰金，影響所及包括售給戴爾電腦使用的電腦螢幕與筆記型電腦、摩托羅拉公司的手機、以及蘋果電腦的iPod。
司法部反托拉斯助理檢察長巴奈特在司法部發出的聲明中指出，這些合謀定價影響了數百萬使用電腦、手機與家用電子產品的美國消費者。
他表示，這些定罪與高額罰金應可發送清楚訊息，不論發生地點為何，美國司法部的反托拉斯部門會積極調查並起訴非法企業聯合行為。
巴奈特也說，調查仍在進行，並不排除對這三家公司或其他公司的個人進行可能指控。971112
【中央社】
LG Display, Sharp Shares Fall on Price-Fixing Fine (Update2)
By Kevin Cho
Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- LG Display Co., Sharp Corp. and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. tumbled in Asian trading after the three liquid-crystal-display makers agreed to plead guilty and pay $585 million in fines for conspiring to fix prices.
LG Display, based in Seoul, dropped as much as 15 percent to 19,250 won on the Korea Exchange. Osaka-based Sharp lost as much as 8.7 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Chunghwa Picture fell by the 7 percent daily limit as of 11:37 a.m. in Taipei.
The fines will further undermine the LCD makers' earnings at a time when a glut in the $82 billion industry is driving down prices and forcing manufacturers to scale back production plans. The $400 million that LG Display, the world's second-largest LCD maker, agreed to pay is the second-highest criminal fine the U.S Department of Justice's antitrust division has imposed.
``This adds to the negative sentiment that's already plaguing the industry,'' said Jason Kang, an analyst at Daewoo Securities Co. in Seoul. ``The fine is bigger than expected and it will be difficult to predict favorable results from other regions such as the EU.''
Sharp will pay $120 million and Taoyuan, Taiwan-based Chunghwa Picture Tubes will pay $65 million for conspiring with LG Display and other unnamed companies, the Justice Department said yesterday.
Regulators in the U.S., South Korea, Japan and Europe first disclosed in December 2006 that they were investigating LCD makers, including industry leader Samsung Electronics Co., of price fixing.
Japanese, Korean Investigations
Japan's Fair Trade Commission is still conducting a separate investigation into price-fixing activities in the country, Toshiyuki Nanbu, director of management and planning at the regulator, said today, declining to say when a ruling may be made.
South Korea's antitrust regulator is also continuing its probe, Kim Dae Young, an official at the Korea Fair Trade Commission' International Cartel Division, said today.
Miwako Suetsune, a spokeswoman at the European Commission Delegation in Tokyo, wasn't immediately available for comment.
LG Display, Chunghwa and others met several times from 2001 to 2006 in so-called ``crystal meetings'' to set prices on desktop computer, laptop and television screens, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Barnett, who heads the antitrust division, said yesterday.
Under the plea deal, Sharp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Katsuhiko Machida and other company directors will give back 10 percent to 30 percent of their compensation for three months beginning in December.
``Sharp understands the gravity of this situation and will strengthen and thoroughly implement measures to prevent the recurrence of this kind of problem,'' it said in a statement.
Over Five Years
LG Display will pay the fine over five years from 2009 and reflect the entire amount as non-operating expenses this quarter, said Park Sang Bae, a spokesman for the company. The panel maker said in a statement it doesn't expect its relationship with customers and future sales to be affected.
``We haven't engaged in any meetings nor communications on the matter with other LCD makers since the lawsuit started, and we will ensure we won't do so in the future,'' James Wu, chief financial officer of Chunghwa Picture, said by telephone.
Wu said the $65 million fine won't be booked as a one-time expense because the company had set aside special funds for legal expenses every month for some time.
Samsung, AU Optronics Corp. and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. were among companies that said in 2006 they were being investigated for price-fixing.
Case Ongoing
``Samsung has pledged full and continuous cooperation with the DOJ's ongoing investigation,'' James Chung, a spokesman for the Suwon, Korea-based company, said today.
Yawen Hsiao, an AU spokeswoman, said she couldn't immediately comment, while Denis Chen, a finance director at Chi Mei, declined to comment.
LG Display said last month its third-quarter net income fell 44 percent while Samsung also posted a 44 decline in profit from LCDs because of falling panel prices. AU Optronics, the world's third-largest LCD maker, reported a bigger-than-estimated decline in quarterly profit.
Under EU rules, companies can be fined up to 10 percent of annual revenue for breaking antitrust laws. In Japan and South Korea, penalties may be as high as 10 percent of the related product's sales during the period of the offense.
Record EU Fine
Cie. de Saint-Gobain SA, Asahi Glass Co., and a Nippon Sheet Glass Co. unit were fined a record 1.38 billion euros ($1.7 billion) this week by the European Union over claims the companies fixed the price of car windows. Saint-Gobain, Europe's largest building-materials supplier, was fined 896 million euros, the highest against a single company, the European Commission said in a Nov. 12. statement.
In 2006, consumers sued LCD makers over price fixing, citing enforcement raids and investigations in Asia and Europe and a criminal grand jury investigation in San Francisco. Lawsuits filed in various states allege that the companies illegally conspired to fix prices for computer laptop and desktop monitors. The complaints, consolidated in San Francisco, seek unspecified damages and a refund for consumers.
In August this year, a federal judge refused to fully dismiss consumer claims against the companies.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Cho in Seoul at kcho2@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 12, 2008 22:57 EST
從1970年代至1980年代，米國與日本打了場彩電貿易大戰。後來，台灣與韓國的廠商也被拉進去打戰，不過，主角還是日本廠商。這場貿易大戰有先後兩個戰場，先談談1976年後來才開打的戰場。
1976年，以Corning為首的四家廠商與勞工公會組成了Committee to Protect American Color Television（簡稱COMPACT），向International Trade Commission（ICT）對日本Hitachi、Mitsubishi、Sanyo、Sharp、Toshiba五大廠商提起進口限額訴願。縮寫成COMPACT聽起來很有力，但看全名，實在一幅狼狽樣，全名跟直接哭喊“救救我”沒兩樣。
COMPACT的說法是：
（1）日本廠商在米國採取掠奪性定價（predatory pricing），銷售價格低於實際生產成本，而且，日本廠商在日本賣的彩電價格遠高於米國。
（2）日本政府保護自己本國市場，並透過各類型的國家補助與研究計畫，協助日本廠商大舉入侵他國市場。
（3）COMPACT說，從1973年至1980年間，因為日本業者的卑劣行徑，超過2萬的米國人工作被“消滅”，平均銷售利潤率從3.7%掉到1.1%。
1977年，這場戰役開始時，日本五大廠商，各自作戰，有些廠商每個月的法律費用竟高達100萬美元。後來，五大廠商合體，合聘Harald Malmgren這位知名商貿領域的律師為首席律師。Malmgren果然有一套，只花三個月，就讓米日雙方廠商達成名為「Orderly Marketing Agreements (OMAS)」的協議，日本廠商同意總量管制出口到米國的彩電數量。
然而，這個協議的有效期限只有三年，到了1980年6月30日即失效。這三年間，米國彩電廠商的數目從協議開始的25家一路倒到剩14家，而存活的14家中有8家被日本或韓國的廠商買走。因為OMAS只規範整機輸出，不包括零件，所以，在這段期間，日本廠商與米皮日骨廠商，將日本零件進口到米國，然後在米國組裝。而米國廠商則是透過墨西哥、台灣的勞動力，降低成本。從根本上來看，米國的彩電產業並沒有因為OMAS而解除死亡威脅，反而跟全滅只有一線之隔。
OMAS協議結束，意味米軍全滅的時刻已經到來。這還得了，這下COMPACT趕快向政府哭：我們快死光了，卡特還我牛～（那時候的米國總統是卡特）。於是，International Trade Commission（ICT）再度接受COMPACT的請願，建議卡特總統針對OMAS對台灣與韓國廠商的效力展延三年，針對日本廠商則更進一步限縮進口數額。但是，COMPACT要的更多，向卡特總統施壓要求台灣與韓國的彩電進口數量各別只能有50萬台與30萬台。
然而，卡特總統沒有接受ICT的建議，因為卡特總統擔心的是限制進口造成的通膨效應。當時，日本與米國間，不只彩電有貿易糾紛，鋼鐵、汽車一拖拉庫的產業都有貿易戰要打。卡特總統當時不可能只針對彩電限制進口，而不理鋼鐵與汽車廠商的哭夭。卡特總統最終只接受限制鋼鐵進口。
卡特總統政府不接受OMAS延長的另一個原因是，另一場由米國商務部自1972至1979年間與超過100家的外國彩電廠商（主要還是針對日本廠商）打的反傾銷大戰，最後以外國業者需賠償6600萬美元做終。既然都打贏了，那就鳴金收兵吧。但是，COMPACT出來哭夭了：外國廠商還我錢～他們應該賠6億美元，而不是只有1/10的賠款。眾所皆知，馬英九沒有還柯賜海牛，卡特政府也沒有幫米國廠商繼續打仗討錢。OMAS的結束，意味米國彩電產業也瓦解了。
個別的米國廠商，例如一息尚存的Zenith，也想利用反拖拉斯法來阻擋日本廠商的進攻。然而，1986年，Zenith vs. Matsushita這場長達15年的法院攻防戰，最終米國最高法院宣判Matsushita獲勝。承審法官Powell短短一段話，道盡米國廠商用掠奪性定價告發日本廠商不成立的理由：
Japanese firms had no motive to sustain such losses by underpricing in the United States absent some strong likelihood that the alleged conspiracy in this country will eventually pay off in market control and an ability to later inflate prices.
簡單的說，法院認為，米國廠商得先找到日本廠商們有同謀採取掠奪性定價的證據，否則，照常理判斷，沒有廠商願意長期用低於生產成本的價格出貨的。
Zenith除了在整個法院大戰沒有獲得任何好處，在彩電市場上也節節敗退。1991年，Gold Star（後來的LG）買下了Zenith 5%的股權，最後一家米國純種彩電業者也say Goodbye了。
好，講古講完了。
米日的彩電貿易大戰，說明了沒有核心零組件與研發技術，單靠法律是救不了命的。就算法律大戰的結果，米國全勝，那又如何？一場戰打個10多年，你還陷在法院時，對手已經拿光你的市場了。日本在彩電的研發能力，在1960年後半，已經遠遠超過米國。Sony知名的Trinitron映像管，在1968年正式出貨，可以視為米日彩電技術能力拉開差距的關鍵分野。
回到中國彩電產業，我們再來看看昨天摘錄的經典名言：
過去幾年我們在策略上犯了錯誤，首先是2004年-2005年內耗式的價格戰使國產品牌失去了後勁，其次是2006年後我們片面強調要做好產品和服務來迎接外資的挑戰，甚至寄希望於國內平板電視上游產業鏈的起步，然而在整體戰略上我們進入了外資品牌設計的圈套。”長虹多媒體業務群董事長郭德軒如是表示。
這個類似的話，30年前米國廠商也說過，米國廠商直說日本廠商有陰謀，中國廠商說有圈套。不知道中國彩電廠商們會不會像那些做古的米國廠商，成立個Committee to Protect China Color Television之類的玩意。我還蠻期待的。
再看看這段話：
“這些虧損與外資平板電視在中國市場低於成本銷售有關。”創維集團副總裁楊東文表示，“外資平板在中國的銷售價格目前甚至都低於中國品牌，按照外資企業的運營成本來計算這些企業都是虧損運營的。他們的目標就是通過持續的傾銷來打垮中國的彩電行業。他們之所以能夠連續三年都這樣做，是源於其面板業務的鉅額贏利。”
23年前，Powell法官的說明，我想中國廠商可以參考一下。要說別人有陰謀很簡單，要找證據卻很困難。我不認為中國彩電廠商還剩多少時間去找傾銷的證據，就算找到了，這場仗應該也打完了。
中國彩電廠商目前有多慘？根據中國的All View Consulting (AVC)的資料，前五大電視品牌中，只有海信（Hisense）一家，排名第三。Samsung、Sony是中國市場的大哥、二哥（這兩家吃掉約4成的市場），其他名列前十大的品牌是Sharp、Toshiba、Philips、LG。這些外國品牌，全部都有面板廠在後奧援。這也是為什麼中國彩電廠商們寄希望於台灣面板廠，沒有台灣面板廠的協助，中國彩電廠商只是等著被消滅。
歷史會不會重演？照目前中國廠商的反應，我看機會是蠻大的。
