What you need to know
- A Texas court ordered Samsung to pay over $192 million for using Mojo Mobility's wireless charging patents without permission.
- Mojo Mobility sued Samsung in 2022 after failed licensing talks in 2013, where they tried to negotiate a deal.
- Despite the talks collapsing, Samsung rolled out wireless charging tech across its Galaxy devices without a license.
A court in Texas ruled that Samsung's devices have used wireless charging tech based on infringed patents and ordered the company to pay a fine of over $192 million.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled against Samsung, stating it violated five of Mojo Mobility's wireless charging patents, Reuters reports.
Mojo Mobility sued Samsung in 2022, claiming the tech giant used its patented wireless charging tech without permission.
According to the lawsuit, Afshin Partovi, the inventor of the wireless charging tech, and other key Mojo Mobility members made several trips to Samsung’s headquarters in South Korea in 2013 to discuss a possible licensing deal for their technology.
However, the negotiation fell through, and Samsung went ahead and used Mojo Mobility's patented tech in its wireless charging systems, rolling it out across Galaxy phones, smartwatches, and earbuds—all without a proper license.
Because Samsung’s infringement was found to be intentional, the judge could potentially triple the damages. Despite this, Samsung claims the patents are invalid and even sued Mojo Mobility in 2023 to overturn them, but that attempt failed.
In the initial trial held in January, the jury ruled that Samsung had to pay $67.5 million in damages, plus a recurring royalty of $1.50 for each Galaxy phone that infringes Mojo Mobility’s patents.
However, the judge found the initial trial's outcome unreliable because the jury seemed confused about "running royalties" versus "lump-sum royalties," as reported by The Global Legal Post, leading to a new trial being ordered.
If Samsung doesn't pay the fine from the legal battle, many of its devices could lose wireless charging capability.
It's perhaps worth noting that Samsung was hit with a $142 million judgment in a separate 5G patent infringement case in the same East Texas court back in April.
