Japanese customs authorities granted a request Wednesday by Fujitsu Ltd. to halt imports of Samsung Electronics Co.'s plasma display panels in connection with Fujitsu's claims that the South Korean firm has infringed on its patents, customs officials said.

The ban, which took effect Wednesday and is good for two years, is designed to protect Fujitsu from additional damage from the alleged patent infringements until a Japanese court rules on a patent suit that was filed by Fujitsu on April 6.

The authorities invoked the customs law to prevent them from clearing Japanese customs, the officials said.

Global demand for PDPs, which are often used in flat-screen TVs, is soaring.

On April 6, Fujitsu sued Samsung subsidiaries at the Tokyo District Court and U.S. Federal District Court in Los Angeles for infringing on its PDP patents.

Fujitsu's suit at the Tokyo court concerns Samsung Japan Corp. and seeks an injunction against the import and sale of its PDPs in Japan.

The suit deals with the patent for technologies to increase the brightness of PDPs, as well as the light-emitting cell structure that gives them longer life.

The suit in Los Angeles was filed against Samsung SDI Co. and seeks damages for patent infringement as well as a court order to halt the import and sale of those products in the U.S. market.

It involves 11 patents, including that for the light-emitting cell structure and one for enabling the display of rich colors.

Samsung SDI has rejected demands that it pay for using Fujitsu's patented technologies. It has continued to make and sell PDPs, even after Fujitsu directly complained to the company.

Fujitsu, which claims to have developed the first plasma panel, has the biggest global market share. Samsung SDI ranks second.