Chinese appliance maker TCL's TVs are displayed at its booth for CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Jan. 7. Yonhap
According to industry officials Thursday, District Court of Munich I ruled that TCL’s German subsidiary violated the country’s unfair competition law by advertising some of its products, including the QLED870 series, as QLED TVs.
Samsung Electronics filed the suit in April last year, claiming that TCL’s ads were deceptive.
The court noted that consumers expect quantum dot technologies to improve color reproduction, but the quantum dot diffusion plates used by TCL did not deliver the expected improvements, constituting a deceptive trading practice.
Quantum dot technology enables more precise control and expression of colors. Using this technology, QLED TVs deliver brighter images and improved picture quality compared with conventional LED TVs.
The International Electrotechnical Commission defines QLED TVs as products that use blue light as the backlight and apply a structure in which a quantum dot film is placed between the panel and the backlight to enhance color reproduction.
TCL has been promoting the TVs in question as QLED, citing it has applied quantum dot particles on diffusion plates, but their performance and authenticity have been questioned.
Following the ruling, TCL’s German unit will no longer be able to advertise or sell not only the models subject to the lawsuit, but also other products using the same technology, as QLED TVs.
The ruling is expected to affect a series of lawsuits and other reviews regarding the Chinese TV maker’s technologies.
In November 2024, Hansol Chemical, a Korean manufacturer of materials needed for quantum dot displays, filed a complaint against TCL with the Fair Trade Commission, alleging the company was advertising its TV models as QLED TVs despite lacking essential materials needed for producing genuine quantum dot panels.
Source: Korea Times News
