"Reasons for the postponement include prolonged litigation currently underway in the United States and efforts to establish mass-production technology aimed at realising further cost reductions," a Canon statement said.

The delay forced Toshiba to put off the sales launch of the surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) TVs as it had planned to source the screens from Canon.

Austin, Texas-based Nano-Proprietary Inc. sued Canon for allegedly breaking its 1999 patent license agreement for key technology in the production of SED sets.

The US firm argued that the agreement does not allow Toshiba access to its intellectual property so the venture cannot be transferred the license rights.

Canon, which began research on SED in 1986, announced in January that it had agreed to buy Toshiba's 50 percent stake in their joint venture making SED TV panels in hopes of resolving the dispute.

The technology, which uses electrons with a phosphor-coated screen, offers high efficiency for low power consumption, according to the high-tech giant.

Canon is also developing organic electro-luminescence display screens, as is rival Sony Corp. which aims to launch televisions using the technology later this year.

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