Samsung to pay $192 million fine for stealing Galaxy wireless charging technology
Samsung doesn't seem to be having its best moments. In the middle of the week, we learned that the company would lay off 30% of its global workforce, and now it turns out that it will have to pay a fine of millions of dollars. This is not the first penalty that the South Korean company has received. In 2022, it received a fine of nearly 9.1 million euros due to the questionable water resistance of 7 mobile phones. This time, the fine comes from a Texas court and refers to the infringement of wireless charging patents.
The penalty is much higher this time, with Samsung facing a $192 million fine. Data from Reuters indicates that a Texas court ruled against Samsung, showing that the South Korean company repeatedly used Mojo Mobility’s patents in wireless charging.
This dispute has been brewing since 2022 with a complaint filed by Afshin Partovi, the inventor of wireless charging technology, along with key members of Mojo Mobility. After two years of litigation, it was determined that Samsung had violated US patent laws, resulting in the fine they will have to face.
Mojo Mobility's efforts to reach an agreement fell on deaf ears, as the company made a series of trips in 2013 to try to strike a deal in which Samsung could license its technology.
Samsung has been using wireless charging technology in almost all of its devices: cell phones, watches, headphones, portable batteries, and more. Now the decision is final and Samsung has to face a new penalty in the United States.
The South Korean company will have to pay Mojo Mobility $192 million. What happens if it doesn’t? If Samsung decides to try to change the course of the case, the court could force the company to lose wireless charging for its devices.
Clearly, Samsung doesn’t want one of the best and most useful features in its product catalog to disappear. Now we can only wait until Samsung makes its move and abides by the court’s decision or decides to take another path.