Judge confirms $134M award to InterDigital: Firm may start ‘seizure process’ against Samsung

Wireless patent licensor InterDigital Inc. said it won confirmation from a federal judge that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. owes it $134 million in royalties for sales of GSM and GPRS/EDGE devices between 2003 and 2005.
InterDigital’s stock climbed more than 20% to $20.47 by midday.
Samsung does not comment on legal proceedings.
A judge presiding over enforcement proceedings between the parties in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York confirmed last year’s arbitration award in the matter by the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce. That award directed Samsung to pay $134 million in royalties, plus interest, less an about $6 million prepaid credit. The award also set a royalty rate that would apply to similar sales of 2G units in 2006.
InterDigital said that the judge had cleared the company to proceed with “a seizure process” to satisfy the award, which a spokesperson for InterDigital said means it can place liens on Samsung assets if Samsung refuses to pay the award. InterDigital also said that if Samsung appeals the award confirmation in District Court, it may be required to post a bond equal to the amount of the judgment.
In September 2006, InterDigital won a similar case against Nokia Corp. and the latter paid $228 million last year to settle the matter.
InterDigital develops wireless technologies for voice and data and licenses its intellectual property to makers of chips and mobile phones.