In another case of LCD manufacturers getting into hot water over price fixing, Seiko Epson announced that it's settling an antitrust lawsuit brought by Nokia back in November of 2009 to the tune of $80 million. The allegations against Epson and its subsidiaries are just one of many leveled by Nokia, with similar suits filed by the company against Samsung, Toshiba, Sharp, LG Display, and others. The LCD industry seems to be regularly hit by these allegations, and earlier this month the South Korean government fined manufacturers including Samsung and Sharp $388 million over similar offences. Epson says in a statement that this settlement is not a sign of the company admitting wrongdoing; rather it feels that its business is suffering owing to the long-running lawsuit, which still has no clear outcome.

Epson will record the payment as an $80 million extraordinary loss in its accounts for Q3 2011. Despite this, the company says that its full-year forecast announced last month is still applicable, expecting to make a net profit of ¥80 billion for the year ending March 31st 2012.