TEXARKANA – An East Texas jury hit Samsung Electronics with a $111 million verdict for patent infringement on Wednesday.
In 2023, Maxell, a Japan based company, filed suit against Samsung in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas – a hotspot for patent litigation.
Once dubbed the “Rocket Docket,” the Eastern District has not recently been a favorable venue for the Korean tech giant, as an East Texas jury levied a $279 million patent verdict against Samsung just last month.
This week’s $111 million verdict stems from a lawsuit alleging Samsung infringed upon several patents owned by Maxell, a mobile electronics developer. The award is another in a string of recent multi-million dollar patent infringement verdicts against Samsung in East Texas federal court, including a $279 million one regarding wireless technology last month.
In this week’s verdict, the jury ruled Samsung infringed all three patents in the lawsuit. Those patents relate to methods for unlocking devices, locating recordings and managing digital data. The jury awarded Maxell damages based on a running royalty through trial. The jury also determined Samsung failed to prove the invalidity of two of the asserted patents and found the infringement to be willful.
The case is part of a broader global dispute between Maxell and Samsung regarding the unauthorized use of Maxell’s patented technologies in a wide range of personal electronic devices. Since July 2021, Maxell has engaged in discussions with Samsung regarding the alleged infringement, providing detailed information about the patents and the technology at issue.
Despite these efforts, Maxell attorneys say Samsung declined to enter into a licensing agreement, prompting Maxell to pursue legal action in multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, Germany, and Japan as well as before the U.S. International Trade Commission.
“Leading smartphone manufacturers have recognized the value of Maxell’s intellectual property and have obtained a license from Maxell in the recent past – including many of the smartphone companies well-known to consumers,” Maxell’s original petition states.
“Maxell believed that a mutually beneficial agreement could be reached between the parties and continued to communicate with Samsung since informing Samsung about its infringement in July 2021. Samsung, however, elected not to enter into an agreement with Maxell or license Maxell’s patents, even though many of the smartphone companies well-known to consumers have already entered into a license agreement with Maxell.”
According to the verdict form, the jury found Samsung willfully infringed upon three of Maxell’s patents, awarding a total of $111,720,099 in compensation.
The Mayer Brown law firm represents Maxell. Samsung is represented by DLA Piper.
Case No. 5:23-cv-00092-RWS
