(Yicai Global) Dec. 6 -- A US court has announced its ruling in the long-running legal dispute between Sharp Corporation and China's white goods and electronic equipment manufacturer Hisense Co. The US District Court for the Northern District of California formally adjudicated the case of Sharp's litigation against Hisense in support of Hisense's motion and ruled that the case must be submitted to arbitration in Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the Paper reported.

The dispute emerged after Sharp complained that Hisense's products under Sharp brand it sells in the US were not up to necessary quality standards, a claim denied by the Chinese firm. Both firms were locked in a legal fight over Sharp's operations in the US. 

The SIAC ruled last May that Sharp should continue to perform the terms of the original contract and shall not disrupt Hisense's normal operations in the US. After half a year, Sharp's intention to bypass SIAC against Hisense in North America failed once again.

In 2015, Sharp handed over its Mexican factory in North America and the brand rights to Hisense for operation under extremely difficult operating conditions. Subsequently, Sharp was back to life in North America and grew steadily. However, this cooperation stopped after Foxconn's acquisition of Sharp. After Hisense refused to give Foxconn Sharp's brand right, Foxconn openly expressed to get back Sharp brand by "taking destructive actions."

In May of this year, Sharp filed a lawsuit in California and New York respectively after it lost the arbitration case in Singapore requesting Hisense to stop using Sharp brand on the grounds that Hisense is selling low-quality and low-priced Sharp products. Sharp later promptly withdrew its lawsuit in New York and later amended its petition in California court to claim USD100 million. Seeing no retreat from Hisense, Sharp filed a petition for Section 337 investigation against Hisense to the US International Trade Commission (ITC).

However, in less than six months, all litigation cases initiated by Sharp were rejected. On Dec. 13, the US District Court for the District of Columbia (DC) made an order approving Hisense's request to dismiss Sharp's prosecution and denying Sharp's move to apply for a ban. Later, the California court rejected the appeal and supported Hisense's legal remedies.

 Sharp's appeal has failed to get support, experts said. Hisense's mature response emerged as a textbook-style case for Chinese companies facing international disputes.