Looks like this is the first of the multiple patent infringement claims against Vizio that has led to specific action by the International Trade Commission. Basically, the federal agency has ordered Vizio to either stop importing TVs to the U.S. or pay a bond on every TV that they import into the U.S. while the case moves through the courts. Vizio already issued a press release indicating that they have chosen to continue importing TVs to the U.S. Obviously, if this is upheld in court, Funai would basically have the power to shut Vizio down, since the company does not have much of a market presence outside of the U.S.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...4aw&refer=home

Personally, I think that Funai's patent claims are not exactly rock solid, given that the MPEG technology in question was originally developed by Thomson (former parent company of RCA) and Hughes (former parent company of Directv). Funai acquired those patents in 2007 and started enforcing them more stringently. Other companies either negotiated licensing terms or already had them, but Vizio chose not to pay the royalty and has challenged the patent in court. If the allegations against Vizio by Funai and other companies are upheld by the courts, then much of their pricing advantage has come from bypassing the licensing fees that other companies did pay.