Samsung hit with $445.5M over patent infringement

A federal jury in Marshall, Texas, has ordered Samsung Electronics to pay nearly $445.5 million to Collision Communications for infringing patents related to 4G, 5G, and Wi-Fi network technology. The ruling represents one of the biggest patent verdicts against the South Korean tech conglomerate in recent years.

The jury ruled that Samsung’s Galaxy phones, laptops, and other wireless products employed technology that infringed on four patents owned by Collision Communications. The verdict came following a four-and-a-half-day trial and two hours of jury deliberation. The case was presided over by U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap at the Eastern District of Texas, a court known for handling major patent battles.

Jury rules Samsung copied Collision’s network technology

Collision said Samsung devices used its technology without permission or payment for the rights to use it. The company stated that Samsung has become very popular by utilizing technology that did not belong to it. At the same time, Collision struggled for years to bring that same technology to market independently.

The jury reviewed evidence from Samsung’s own emails and technical documents that showed Samsung had known about Collision’s patents long before the lawsuit. Both companies discussed possible business partnerships and licensing deals for the patented technology between 2011 and 2014. 

Witnesses testified that the tech heavyweight’s engineers and managers clearly understood the value of the technology and even praised its ability to reduce interference and improve data speeds. These features could make Samsung’s products more competitive, but the firm walked away from the discussions without signing any agreement or paying for the technology. The company continued to release devices that used the same patented systems.

The jury awarded $445,484,160 in damages to Collision Communications. It imposed a running royalty, meaning Samsung would be liable for additional payments in the future if it continues to sell phones, laptops, or other devices that utilize the same technology. 

Small U.S. firm wins major case after years of legal battle

Collision Communications spent more than ten years fighting to protect its inventions from Samsung Electronics. Lead attorney Brad Caldwell from Caldwell Cassady & Curry in Dallas said the victory represented recognition and respect for honest, hard work. He explained that the founders of Collision had invested not only their time but also a significant portion of their savings and energy in developing their technology and keeping it alive through years of challenges.

Caldwell described the trial as among the most challenging his team had worked on, devoting much of its effort to simplifying some complex concepts about how wireless signals are transmitted between wireless phones, cellphone towers, and routers, so that jurors could understand them. His team worked for months to write clear explanations that would make the science easy to understand.

Samsung’s attorneys, Victoria F. Maroulis and Sean Pak of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, denied the allegations and contended that the patents were invalid. They said the smartphone manufacturer’s own engineers had independently developed their versions of the technology and had not copied Collision’s work.

The jury found that the tech firm committed willful infringement because it was aware of the inventions but proceeded to use them anyway. Samsung and its lawyers have not yet publicly commented on the case, although they could still appeal the decision.

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