Solas wins Samsung patent dispute
March 11, 2021
By Chris Forrester
Dublin-based Solas OLED has won a patent dispute against Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display and Samsung Electronics America for “wilfully infringing patents” owned by Solas.
A jury trial at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas found against Samsung for two patents (US patent numbers 7,446,338 and 9,256,311) and which were claimed to be “fundamental to OLED displays”.
A statement from Solas said the patents were or are used prolifically by Samsung in the OLED displays of Galaxy S and Galaxy Note smartphones. After a five-day trial, the jury awarded Solas $62,738,543 in damages for infringement of the two patents. Solas also has cases pending against Samsung before the International Trade Commission and against Samsung Electronics GmbH in the Düsseldorf District Court in Germany.”
Gerald Padian, co-founder and Director of Solas, commented: “For too long, the behemoth that is Samsung has played the game of double standards – taking and using the patented technologies of others without paying, while at the same time constructing the world’s largest patent portfolio behind which they hide their billions of dollars. Just like you cannot walk out of a Samsung store with a Galaxy phone without paying for it, Samsung cannot walk away with Solas’ property without paying for it. Thankfully, the Courts and juries are a great leveller. When we, the founders of Solas, had an operating company, we lived through the frustration and devastation of big companies stealing our inventions. As a result, when we now acquire patents, we do not just acquire the ribboned documents and the rights that come with them, we acquire the stories behind the inventions; the blood, sweat and tears that built the inventions; and, the responsibility to vindicate the undertakings of the inventors.”
Solas, established in 2016 and based in Dublin, Ireland, is an OLED technology licensing company. The Solas patent portfolio covers key areas of OLED structures, display design and architecture, and driver circuitry; and is one of the most important and comprehensive OLED patent portfolios.