back to article Flatscreen makers fined €649m for price fixing

The European Commission has fined six LCD panel makers €649m for fixing the price of their screens. The six companies must pay €648.9m for fixing prices for LCD screens between October 2001 and February 2006. The six cartel members are: Samsung Electronics, LG Display, AU Optronics, Chimei InnoLux Corporation, Chunghwa Picture …

COMMENTS

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  1. mafoo
    Paris Hilton

    Who proffits

    So is the EU bureaucracy going to pocket the €649 Million?

    It'd be nice to see the money distributed to, you know, the people who were actually affected by the price fixing.

    If you want to get your money back from the companies listed, the EU expect you to sue the manufacturer.

    1. Stephen Blake

      Fine the rich who rob the poor... and keep it?

      Maybe we should sue the EU?

      Where is Robin Hood when you need him?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      who sues?

      I think the EU expect it will be the manufacturers who bought the screens to assemble into their own products to be the one's suing the cartel members.

      I'd like to think the fine would be used by the EU's investigators and consumer protection agencies to further their work in protecting Europe from unscrupulous big business - as to what actually happens with the cash....?

    3. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Doh!

      One memo warned everyone taking part: "to take care of security/confidentiality matters and to limit written communication"

      Doh!

  2. Steve X
    WTF?

    Neat

    So, join a cartel, profit from it for 4 years, then when you realise the authorities are closing in you shop all the other members & get off scott free. Way to go, Samsung. Glad I haven't bought any Samsung products.

    1. Dazed and Confused
      Joke

      Yepp, interesting game of chicken

      Just like Virgin airlines. Lets fix prices with BA then lets rat on them so they get fined.

      Its called having your cake and eating it. Hey who said you can't.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Glad I haven't bought any Samsung products.

      I am, they're generally better than the competition and roughly the same price.

      Wait, shit.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Grenade

      I disagree

      Only works if you are the first to squeel though. Very expensive game of chicken to play. Personally I'm glad companies are given a big incentive to self-report.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Steve X

    Glad I haven't bought any Samsung products.

    Are you sure? This is about panels, not branded products.

  4. Subliteratus
    Thumb Up

    Samsung ftw!

    I have a Samsung 40" LCD that I bought about 4 years ago so I probably took a hit from the price-fixing. But, in consolation, my telly was built by the sneakiest and smartest manufacturer - the one that managed to stitch up all the rest. Those are both traits I admire and, if their engineers are as sneaky and smart as their regulatory risk team, then it's just possible I got value for my money anyway.

    Stuff's worth what people are willing to pay for it and, even with the price-fixing, can people really claim they were cheated? They felt the deal was fair when they ponied up their cash at the time. No-one made them pay £1500 for a telly...

  5. h4rm0ny
    Thumb Up

    Re: Glad I haven't bought any Samsung products

    And I'm glad I have. Aside from having seen excellent quality on the flat screen monitor which I'm using right now, I would sooner find that I've bought from the company that helped bring down a price-fixing cartel than one of the others that carried on with it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      but...

      You might have got your screen more cheaply if they hadn't been fixing the prices at all...

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Coffee/keyboard

    Ironic

    'One memo warned everyone taking part: "to take care of security/confidentiality matters and to limit written communication". '

    Bahahahaha

  7. alwarming
    Paris Hilton

    I for one,

    wouldn't touch an LCD TV (monitors are unavoidable) as long as there is a plasma maker out there. Inferior product for higher price, why ?

    Paris, coz it's all show and tell...

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Glad I haven't bought any flatscreen devices

    I am still using my 19 inch Iiyama CRT monitor. I use a CRT television at home. I don't have a laptop yet. So does this mean that flatscreen monitors and TVs will come down in price?

    I wonder if the right wing press like Daily Mail, or the Express will even bother to mention this. We need to announce to everyone how Europe is useful for the UK. Although I guess the press will say how Europe is taking the money for themselves!

  9. Jolyon Smith
    Coat

    No one made them pay X ... no wait, that's EXACTLY what they did...

    Subliteratus, the key word in "price fixing" is "fixing".

    If you mean that no-one was forced to choose to pay the fixed price, then you are right, but the whole point of price fixing is that customers were MADE to pay a higher price than normal market dynamics and competition would otherwise have required them so to do.

    And now the consumers get to pay all over again, as the manufacturers will have to absorb the fine in current prices.

    Way to go EU.

    Mines the one with a Sony Bravia in the pocket. Hopefully that was expensive because it was a quality product (so it seems to be).

    1. PoorLumpyPony
      Flame

      Depending on when you bought it...

      Its probably a Samsung Panel (it was actually a shared venture between sony and samsung but used samsung R&D so is generally considered 'samsung's) and therefore price fixed....

      Sony however do some of the best post processing....err stuff, which is why it appears a 'quality product'. Although they now have so many different series it can be difficult to tell.

      Bravia series incl but may have expanded from: G (U B P T S) D V W X

      Flame as its a contentious subject for some

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Sony?...Sorry...

      Your Sony Bravia TV screen was manufactured by S-LCD (Samsung and Sony's joint screen manufacturing venture since 2004).

      So, I'm afraid you haven't quite dodged the price fixing bullet this time :(

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