A US-based company called Ioengine is suing Samsung in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleging that the Korean company is using five of its connectivity-related patents without authorization or compensation.
These patents were allegedly used by Samsung in the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy Buds2 Pro, and Samsung’s Portable SSD T7. These devices are being used as examples, by the way – they do not represent the full scope of the complaint.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Ioengine is asking for compensation for the alleged past infringement, of a “reasonable royalty” (without specifying a dollar amount). There’s also a specific patent, for which Ioengine is seeking a permanent injunction against the portable SSD drives and Galaxy phones. If granted, such an injunction would compel Samsung to stop the conduct found to infringe the patent in the US. Ioengine is also asking for royalties as an alternative if the court does not grant the injunction.
If granted, such an injunction may lead to a sales ban, but it also could be a loss of features, it’s unclear right now. And it’s all very tentative at the moment – there’s a company asking the court for all of this, but nothing has been decided yet.