A court in Germany has ordered TCL to stop promoting some of its television as having QLED displays, following a complaint by Samsung Electronics that they don’t actually have any meaningful implementation of quantum-dot technology.
The Munich Regional Court ordered TCL’s German subsidiary to stop marketing models including its QLED870 TVs as “QLED” televisions, saying that the term violates the country’s fair competition laws.
Samsung filed its lawsuit last year, complaining that TCL has falsely advertised some of its TVs as having quantum dots, when they didn’t. The ruling effectively validates its complaint.
Quantum-dot technology is widely associated with more premium TV models because of the way it enhances colour accuracy and brightness. But because TCL used such a minimal amount of quantum-dots in its QLED870 TVs, it didn’t have any meaningful impact on its brightness or its colour reproduction, the court said. As a result, TCL’s claims that the QLED870 is a genuine QLED TV are likely to mislead consumers, the court said. That constitutes an unfair commercial practice. It’s not allowed, the court decided.
Because of the ruling, TCL will have to stop marketing the models in Germany as QLED TVs, as well as any other products that use the same display configuration. But it’s not clear if TCL will also have to pay compensation to any consumers who might have bought the TVs.
Genuine QLED televisions will place a quantum-dot film between the blue backlight and the LCD display panel to enhance the colour expression and brightness that emanates from it. There is an accepted definition for what constitutes a true QLED TV outlined by the International Electronics Commission, and TCL’s QLED870 models appear to fall short of that standard, the court found. The problem is that it doesn’t use a proper quantum-dot film, instead applying only trace amounts of the materials – meaning they don’t have any noticeable impact on the picture quality.
Samsung has been fighting against TCL’s and other Chinese brand’s deceptive marketing tactics for a while. Last year, it launched an amusing marketing campaign on its YouTube channel, called “Where is the real QLED?” that criticised its competitors' claims that their more affordable TVs were using QLED displays.
TCL is also facing legal action in the U.S., fighting class-action lawsuits in New York and California over its QLED branding. Hisense is thought to be at it too, and has been hit with lawsuits in New York and Illinois, accusing it of using the same tactics to falsely claim some of its TVs are QLED when they’re not. According to the Korea Herald, which first reported the news from Germany, the Munich court’s ruling could have an impact on those American cases.
Samsung has a history of filing and winning lawsuits against TCL. In February 2025, a German court ruled in its favor after Samsung accused TCL’s “Nxtframe” gallery TVs of infringing on its iconic “The Frame” trademark, which it uses to brand its own art-inspired televisions. TCL responded to that loss by rebranding the TVs as “NXTVision”.
