Samsung could pay $25m for using semiconductor tech
California semiconductor developer Acorn Technologies has won a patent infringement suit against Samsung, after a jury recommended damages of $25 million.
Judge Rodney Gilstrap of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has ordered the parties to engage in mediation, citing the likelihood of “substantial post-trial practice”.
Post-trial practice could include a potential challenge to the jury’s verdict, or the scale of the damages awarded, although no such motions have yet been filed in the case.
The suit concerned patented Acorn technology which reduces the contact resistance between metals and semiconductors.
Acorn accused Samsung of using its proprietary technology in some of its most popular devices, including smartphones, since January 2015.
“We are pleased that the jury recognized the ingenuity of our inventors and the significant use Samsung was making of our patented technology,” said Acorn CEO Tom Horgan yesterday, June 3.
An order issued on May 21 gave the parties 45 days to resolve their disputes via mediation. Gilstrap said he would delay an order enforcing the jury verdict until the parties informed the court of an agreement. At the time of publication, court records do not show that any deal has been reached.
Contact resistance between metals and semiconductors can slow down semiconductor devices and stop it from functioning efficiently. The four patents infringed by Samsung cover technology for counteracting contact resistance, which works by inserting material between the metal and semiconductor.
Acorn said its invention had become more important as semiconductor transistors have gradually become smaller.
The patents’ inventors “not only provided a counter-intuitive solution to a problem, but they did so at a time when few people realised that problem was going to be the serious performance inhibitor it became by 2015,” said Acorn chairman Peter Norton.
“Their fundamental change in how to tackle the inherent performance limitations compared to the conventional industrial approach is a paradigm shift that keeps on giving,” Norton added.
A vital component in modern electronics, semiconductors have been the subject of extensive IP litigation. Intel is currently fighting a record $2.1 billion award in favour of VLSI, which successfully sued the chipmaker for infringing patents it acquired from NXP Semiconductors.
Arabinda Das of TechInsights has previously explored the history of semiconductor patent strategy for WIPR here.
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