Interdigital, Samsung patent dispute nears an end

The patent-licensing dispute between InterDigital Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. appears to be over as the two companies have hammered out an agreement regarding royalties for the sale of 2G and 3G products.
According to the agreement, InterDigital has agreed to grant Samsung a royalty bearing license covering Samsung’s sale of all 3G products through 2012. The products include those that are built under the W-CDMA and CDMA2000 standards. The agreement also ends the payment disputes regarding Samsung’s royalty obligations for sales of 2G products.
Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed by InterDigital.
William Merritt, InterDigital president and CEO, said in a statement that the company is pleased to reach a favorable deal with Samsung.
“The agreement is consistent with our long-term strategic plan and reflects well on the strength of our patent portfolio and our ability to design flexible deal structures,” Merritt said.
Samsung has 45 days to choose between two payment options. Once Samsung has chosen an option and pays its first installment early next year (the amount was not disclosed by InterDigital), the companies will end all ongoing litigation and arbitration proceedings.
Last year a federal court in New York ordered Samsung to pay InterDigital $134 million in royalties for sales of 2G terminal units in 2005 and set a royalty rate for 2G terminal units sold in 2006.
InterDigital also claims the Korean company was importing and selling 3G units in the United States that violate company patents. InterDigital filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission.
In 2006, InterDigital won a similar case against Nokia Corp. and received $228 million.