Nokia, AT T Suing LCD Companies Nokia Joins Lawsuit Against LCD Manufacturers For Alleged Price Fixing

Nokia, the world's #1 cell phoneย manufacturer, is joining a action
lawsuit started by AT T that all
eges that eleven companies conspired together toย illegitimatelyย 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,ย illegallyย fixing the prices of the LCD screens. Nokia and AT
T are seeking lots of cash and a legal injunction against theย 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.