Irvine’s Vizio won another legal victory that is expected to end  its ongoing battle with a Japanese rival.

Vizio won a United States Customs and Border Protection agency ruling on Wednesday that all of its current models of televisions do not infringe on U.S. Patent No. 6,115,074, which is held by Japanese rival Funai Electric Co.

“We believe that this ruling … will allow us to successfully bring this issue to a close,” stated Rob Brinkman, vice president of operations and administration.

Funai, which sells TVs under the brands Emerson, Sylvania and Symphonic, has been buying TV patents and using them to get more money out of competitors — or attempting to shut them down. In April, Funai won a ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission to stop Vizio from importing digital TVs to sell in the United States. Vizio won a stay last month, as the Trade Commission mulls its decision to ban imports that infringe on the Funai patent. While Vizio can ship its HDTVs to the U.S. for now, that case hasn’t been completely resolved. 

However, earlier in March, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a final rejection of the Funai patent, saying Vizio didn’t infringe.

Vizio has said companies like Funai are unfairly targeting the Irvine TV maker because of its success over the years (read: “Vizio TVs could be $30 cheaper“).

“Today’s Customs ruling is yet another major step forward for Vizio, our supply partners, our retail customers, and most importantly the American consumers who have shown they prefer Vizio HDTVs over other brands,” Laynie Newsome, Vizio’s co-founder & vice president of sales and marketing communications, said in a statement.

 ”We are pleased that Funai’s ill-advised tactics continue to falter and are being rejected by the U.S. authorities; we are determined and remain unshaken by merit-less claims from foreign competitors.”

Earlier on Vizio:

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