InterDigital files patent complaints against Samsung
Philadelphia Business Journal - by Peter Key
InterDigital Communications Corp. said Friday it has filed two complaints alleging that Samsung Electronics Co.'s phones infringe on three of its patents for technology used in wireless phones.
The King of Prussia, Pa., company filed complaints against Samsung with the U.S. International Trade Commission and in federal court in Delaware.
The trade commission complaint alleges that Samsung engaged in an unfair trade practice by making, importing and selling phones and components that infringe on three InterDigital (NASDAQ:IDCC) patents. The complaint filed in federal court alleges that the phones infringe on the patents identified in the trade commission complaint.
InterDigital, a developer of wireless-communications technology, is seeking to have the infringing phones and components barred from entering the country and to bar sales of those already in the United States. The phones include the BlackJack, which has a traditional QWERTY keyboard for browsing the Internet, sending e-mails and messaging, and also plays music.
InterDigital said the ITC has 30 days from the filing of the complaint to decide whether to formally institute an investigation. If it does, the complaint would probably come to trial by January of next year, InterDigital said.
The complaints represent a new front in a long battle between InterDigital and Samsung over patent rights and royalties.
Last August, in an arbitration proceeding, an International Chamber of Commerce tribunal ordered Samsung to pay InterDigital $134 million in past royalties due under the companies' 1996 patent license agreement, plus interest based on the sale of some Samsung products through 2005. It also established royalty rates applicable to sales of all Samsung products covered by the patents last year.
Samsung didn't -- and still hasn't -- paid any of the royalties, so in September, InterDigital filed an action in federal court in New York seeking judicial confirmation of the award. Samsung responded with a filing to stay and vacate or modify the award. The court hasn't established a timetable for ruling on the matter.
In October 2006, Samsung filed a request for a new International Chamber of Commerce arbitration, seeking new royalty rates based on a patent settlement reached between InterDigital and wireless-communications equipment maker Nokia Corp. in 2005. InterDigital is denying that Samsung is entitled to the new rates.
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