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BUSINESS
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
BUSINESS

1. BUSINESS:

Universal Display Corporation and its subsidiaries (the Company) is a leader in the research, development and commercialization of organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies and materials for use in display and solid-state lighting applications. OLEDs are thin, lightweight and power-efficient solid-state devices that emit light that can be manufactured on both flexible and rigid substrates, making them highly suitable for use in full-color displays and as lighting products. OLED displays are capturing a growing share of the display market, especially in the mobile phone, television, wearable, tablet, notebook and personal computer, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and automotive markets. The Company believes this is because OLEDs offer potential advantages over competing display technologies with respect to power efficiency, contrast ratio, viewing angle, video response time, form factor and manufacturing cost. The Company also believes that OLED lighting products have the potential to replace many existing light sources in the future because of their high-power efficiency, excellent color rendering index, low operating temperature and novel form factor. The Company’s technology leadership, intellectual property position, and the Company’s more than 20 years of experience working closely with leading OLED display manufacturers are some of the competitive advantages that should enable the Company to continue to share in the revenues from OLED displays and lighting products as they gain wider acceptance.

The Company’s primary business strategy is to (1) develop new OLED materials and sell existing and any new materials to product manufacturers of products for display applications, such as mobile phones, televisions, wearables, tablets, portable media devices, notebook computers, personal computers and automotive applications, and specialty and general lighting products; and (2) further develop and license the Company’s proprietary OLED technologies to those manufacturers. The Company has established a significant portfolio of proprietary OLED technologies and materials, primarily through internal research and development efforts and acquisitions of patents and patent applications, as well as maintaining long-standing, and establishing new relationships with world-class universities, research institutions and strategic manufacturing partnerships. The Company currently owns, exclusively licenses or has the sole right to sublicense more than 5,000 patents issued and pending worldwide.

The Company manufactures and sells its proprietary OLED materials to customers for evaluation and use in commercial OLED products. The Company also enters into agreements with manufacturers of OLED display and lighting products under which it grants them licenses to practice under the Company’s patents and to use the Company's proprietary know-how. At the same time, the Company works with these and other companies that are evaluating the Company's OLED technologies and materials for possible use in commercial OLED display and lighting products.