Excluding Our Devices in Nvidia Probe Would Harm Public, Samsung Tells ITC
Nvidia, through its complaint at the International Trade Commission, seeks under Tariff Act Section 337 to bar imports of Samsung smartphones and tablets based on Samsung’s alleged infringement of Nvidia patents, “which purportedly concern technology included in one component of those end products,” Samsung told the ITC in comments filed Sept. 19 (http://1.usa.gov/1rhx7Jm). “Samsung denies Nvidia’s allegations, including that there has been any violation of Section 337 or that Nvidia is entitled to any remedy.” The comments were posted Tuesday after the ITC voted to open an investigation into Nvidia allegations that Samsung and Qualcomm violate seven Nvidia patents on graphics processing units (GPUs) built into Samsung smartphones and tablets (CD Oct 8 p10). Qualcomm as of Wednesday had filed no comments in the ITC docket, which is 337-TA-932.
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Assuming Nvidia were to succeed in convincing the ITC that Samsung is guilty of patent infringement, “Nvidia’s requested remedies against Samsung are against the public interest,” Samsung said. “Here, the public interest weighs against excluding Samsung’s popular mobile phones and tablets because a void in the marketplace would be created to the significant detriment of consumers and wireless carriers that Nvidia, its licensees, and third parties could not fill"
The patents at issue concern the GPUs built into the products, not “the overall functionality of the accused mobile phones and tablets,” Samsung said. “These accused GPUs are computer processors used to perform complex computations, typically associated with the processing and display of images.” They're part of a system on chip design that also includes the CPU, baseband processor, firmware and other components, it said. “There are also a number of other important components, including the battery, screen, user interface, and antenna, among others. Excluding the accused mobile phones and tablets that contain GPUs with allegedly infringing features, which are not as critical to the mobile devices’ functionality as many other components and features, would expand Nvidia’s patents well beyond the scope of the purported inventions while causing harm to the public interest."
Nvidia scoffed at Samsung’s public interest arguments, in a Sept. 24 reply, also posted Tuesday (http://1.usa.gov/1yNHrD3). Samsung’s arguments rest on the false “premise” that the market “cannot replace the accused Samsung products in the event the Commission finds a violation of Section 337,” Nvidia said. “Competing suppliers of end consumer products, including Apple, provide an abundance of smartphones and tablets that are not at issue in this investigation and that could replace the quantity of any excluded Samsung products.” In 2013, Samsung had about 32 percent of the smartphone market in North America, while Apple had 36 percent, and LG, ZTE and Motorola combined supplied another 18 percent, it said, citing Strategy Analytics data. Similarly, in 2013, Samsung held 16 percent of the North American tablet market, while Apple held 41 percent, Amazon 11 percent, White Box 10 percent and Asus 7 percent, it said. “On information and belief, these and other third parties could also replace any shortfall in finished goods from Samsung.”