Samsung Electronics exhibition hall at CES 2023 was different from previous years. The company did not display its top-of-the-line TV at the main venue of the Las Vegas Convention Center, reportedly to avoid being copied by Chinese companies.
According to South Korean experts, Samsung’s tolerance for Chinese plagiarism has reached its limit, and advanced tech companies worldwide are strengthening their vigilance against China.
Among them, 550 companies were from South Korea, second only to the United States, with more than 1,500 companies participating in the venue.
Samsung Electronics, per usual, had the largest exhibition hall among participants at the venue. However, this year was different. The company’s new top-end TVs and home appliances were not present at the event, substituted with the company’s SmartThings technologies.
Instead, Samsung unveiled the new products at a nearby hotel. The showcase was non-public, allowing only selected local consumers and media personnel into the showroom.
Micro LED TVs are made with displays that consist of many micron-scale LEDs. Unlike traditional LCD or LED TVs, Micro LED TVs do not need backlights.
South Korean media widely described Samsung’s move to withdraw the top-end product from its main venue as “really rare.”
A Samsung official explained to South Korean paper, Chosun Ilbo, that “it is not uncommon for people from competing companies, especially Chinese, to come to the exhibition hall to measure the thickness of the latest TVs, and even measure the temperature of the screen, and then launch their counterfeit products.”
Lee Ji-yong, a professor at South Korea’s Keimyung University’s Department of International Studies, told The Epoch Times on Jan. 6 that Chinese companies have an extensive history of blatantly copying others’ products, and Samsung has suffered greatly as a result.
“Chinese companies have violated intellectual property rights to a severe degree… Samsung has woken up this time, and its tolerance toward [Chinese competitors] has reached its limit,” Lee said.
“This goes to show that companies with cutting-edge technologies are becoming more vigilant against China. Now that Samsung has done this, advanced tech companies around the world may imitate this approach in the future.”
Meanwhile, the washing machine and dryer next to TCL’s steam closet at the exhibition also appear reminiscent of Samsung’s BESPOKE washing machine and dryer set.
Likewise, a similar situation occurred at the booth of Hisense, a Chinese home appliance maker.
Hisense’s M1 Series TV that doubles as a picture frame appear to imitate the “Gallery Mode” TVs launched by Samsung and LG several years ago.
It said before the global pandemic, Chinese companies accounted for more than one-third of the participants.