Samsung countersues ex-patent chief over IP disputes

Samsung Electronics Co. filed a lawsuit against its former patent chief on Sunday, in response to the ex-vice president's claim that the tech giant had violated 10 patents owned by a US earphone and audio equipment maker.

Representing Statern Tekiya LLC,  Ahn Seung-ho, who had led Samsung's seven-year patent fight with Apple Inc., sued his ex-employer with a US district court in Texas last November. 

Tekiya argued that Samsung's popular mobile phone series of Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Buds illegally used its patented technologies without permission. In addition, the US company claimed Samsung's voice assistant app, Bixby, introduced on the Galaxy S8 and S8+, violated its own patents.

The Delaware-based company is seeking compensation, which industry watchers estimate in the tens of millions of dollars, from Samsung.

In the counterclaim filed with the US district court, Samsung refuted the allegations that it had infringed on 10 patents held by Tekiya in relation to wireless earphones and voice recognition technologies. 

Samsung also argued that the legal action involved the illegal use of trade secrets by its former executive, who it alleged of violating the principle of faith and trust.

Ahn, founder and CEO of Synergy IP Pte based in Singapore, had led Samsung Electronic's intellectual property center for 10 years until his resignation in 2019. He oversaw the South Korean company’s patents on voice recognition and wearable technologies, at the center of the legal disputes with Tekiya.

Alongside the counterclaim, Samsung filed a complaint against the patent firm's managing director surnamed Cho, who previously worked as the smartphone maker's in-house lawyer.

Samsung alleged Cho of the misappropriation of trade secrets, the violation of the principle of faith and trust and a civil conspiracy with Ahn. He was understood to have reviewed the company’s analysis on Tekiya’s patents when he worked at Samsung’s IP center, according to the world's top memory chipmaker.

In addition, it filed an injunction against both Ahn and Cho to prohibit them from seeking compensation from Samsung and making illegal use of Samsung’s trade secrets to represent other companies, while urging them to return profits they may earn from taking legal action against Samsung.

Samsung's countersuits against Tekiya and the ex-employees may indicate the company would not go to the negotiating table to settle their disputes.

Ahn, the ex-patent chief, established a patent company in July 2019 when he was working at Samsung. The firm last year bought patents for digital broadcasting standards for 14.5 billion won ($17 million) from South Korea’s government-funded Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, according to Samsung.

Write to Shin-young Park at nyusos@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article