The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled that BOE, along with seven subsidiaries, violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act by misappropriating Samsung's trade secrets related to OLED technology, despite Samsung's advanced security measures.

This violation led to a ban on BOE, forbidding the Chinese display company from importing, selling, or advertising its OLED products in the US for approximately 14 years and 8 months, with a final decision expected in November 2025.

The ITC found that BOE obtained trade secrets by hiring current and former Samsung employees and contacting Samsung's suppliers, causing significant harm to Samsung Display.

The ruling is expected to impact the small OLED panel market, where BOE held a 22.7% share in Q2 2025, potentially benefiting Samsung and LG Display by reducing BOE's influence in the US market.

This ban could hinder BOE's ability to supply displays for iPhones in the US, which may alter market share dynamics among display manufacturers, especially as Samsung produced 49% of all iPhone OLED panels in Q1 2025, with LG and BOE holding 28% and 19%, respectively.

The ban's calculation was based on the development time of Samsung's core OLED technology, highlighting the difficulty and time required to develop such advanced technology.

While the final ruling will be announced in November 2025, sources indicate that BOE's technology theft has already been acknowledged, leading to penalties.

Previously, the ITC recognized BOE's infringement of three Samsung OLED patents in 2024 but did not impose a ban at that time.

With BOE's removal from the US market, Samsung and LG are likely to increase their market share in the OLED display segment for iPhones, benefiting from reduced competition.

The ban also affects BOE's supply of monitors for Apple computers, which account for over half of Apple's monitor production, complicating Apple's supply chain and product strategies.

Apple had sourced LCD panels from Samsung and LG but began working with BOE in 2021; however, BOE's share of iPhone screen supplies has decreased to 20%.

Samsung Display, founded in 1997, has heavily invested in OLED technology development, leading to its dominance in the TV market and holding numerous patents in LCD and OLED tech.