Enlarge / Hisense televisions at the Consumer Electronics Show in Asia in 2015. (credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Sharp, a Japanese electronics manufacturer, has filed a lawsuit challenging a foreign gag order that company lawyers say prevents Sharp from talking about its own brand.
The dispute is rooted in a licensing deal gone sour between Sharp and Hisense, a fast-growing Chinese maker of televisions and appliances. In financial stress a few years ago, Sharp sold one of its factories to Hisense, along with the rights to sell televisions under the Sharp brand in the North American market for five years.
According to Sharp, Hisense quickly lowered its manufacturing quality and started shipping sub-standard televisions under the Sharp brand. In April, Sharp, now owned by Taiwan-based Foxconn, said that it was terminating the trademark licensing deal. Hisense filed a notice of arbitration with the Singapore International Arbitration Center, which is the dispute resolution agreed upon by the parties in their licensing deal. In June, Sharp filed a lawsuit (PDF) in California state court seeking to terminate the licensing agreement.
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Source: Ars Technica – Sharp sues Hisense over a foreign “gag order”