Late Monday afternoon, a jury returned a verdict of over $23 million in a patent infringement case in favor of Fractus, S.A., represented by Susman Godfrey. Fractus, a company based in Barcelona, Spain that sells antennas for mobile phones, accused Samsung of infringing its patents covering mobile phone antenna technology. Samsung contested infringement as well as the validity of the patents. It also asked for a royalty of 1 cent per phone. Instead, the jury awarded over 35 cents per phone, nearly all of the damages requested by Fractus. The total amount awarded for past damages was over $23 million. In addition to finding infringement and validity, the jury also found that Samsung willfully infringed Fractus’ patents.
The Susman Godfrey team was led by Max L. Tribble, Jr. and Justin A. Nelson. “We are very proud to represent Fractus in its defense of its core intellectual property,” said Max Tribble. During the trial, the evidence revealed that Samsung destroyed documents even after suit was filed and that Samsung had not taken a single patent license for antenna technology. “This victory is a key step in protecting Fractus’ essential antenna technology both in the United States and throughout the world,” said Justin Nelson.
In addition to the $23 million verdict against Samsung, Fractus has negotiated patent licenses with other companies worth up to nearly $70 million. The case is Fractus v. Samsung et al., case no. 6:09-cv-203 (E.D. Tex., Tyler Division). Fractus is also represented by Heim, Payne & Chorush; Ward and Smith; and Capshaw DeRieux. Samsung is represented by Baker Botts.
