US jury orders Samsung to pay $445.5 million in patent infringement suit

Seoul, Oct 11 (IANS) A US federal jury has ordered Samsung Electronics to pay $445.5 million in damages after finding that the South Korean company infringed multiple wireless network technology patents held by an American firm, according to foreign media reports on Saturday.

According to the reports from Reuters and other outlets, the federal jury in Marshall, Texas, ruled Friday (US time) that Samsung violated four patents owned by Collision Communications, a New Hampshire-based company specializing in wireless network efficiency technologies, reports Yonhap news agency.

The jury determined that Samsung's products, including its Galaxy smartphones and notebook computers with wireless functions, infringed the patents in question.

Collision Communications filed the lawsuit against Samsung in 2023, claiming infringement of its proprietary technology.

In August, Samsung Display has virtually won a US lawsuit against BOE Technology Group Co., with Washington's trade watchdog imposing a near 15-year import ban on the Chinese rival's organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels.

According to the sources, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) made a preliminary ruling to ban imports of BOE's OLED panels for 14 years and eight months under a "limited exclusion order," which came around two years after Samsung Display filed the lawsuit in October 2023.

While the final verdict is set to be delivered in November, industry watchers said the preliminary ruling is unlikely to be overturned as it acknowledged BOE has infringed Samsung Display's trade secrets.

The ITC said last month Samsung Display has proven that BOE has infringed at least one of its protectable trade secrets, noting that the Chinese player has "injured and threatens to substantially injure a domestic industry" in the U.S.

Industry watchers, however, said the ruling will not lead to a significant drop in BOE's market share in the OLED sector, as finished products equipped with its panels, including Apple's iPhones, are not subject to the restriction.

--IANS

na/