Recently, a federal jury in Texas ruled that tech giant Samsung must pay $278.8 million in damages for infringing two wireless communication patents developed by Headwater Research LLC.

Headwater Research filed a lawsuit against Samsung on March 10, 2023, alleging that Samsung's smartphones and tablets infringed its patented technologies—U.S. Patent Nos. 8,406,733 and 9,198,117—which relate to improving Wi-Fi speed, reliability, and battery life in devices.

On April 25, 2025, following a week-long trial, the jury found that both Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Samsung Electronics America, Inc. had infringed the two patents. According to court documents, Samsung had attempted to defend itself prior to trial by arguing that the patents were invalid and that the plaintiff lacked standing to sue. However, the court rejected both defenses.

Notably, on May 16, 2025, Headwater Research filed a new lawsuit against Alphabet (Google) in the Western District of Texas (Case No. 7:25-cv-00231), citing key testimony from its lawsuit against Samsung.