LG Electronics was awarded $168 million in damages in a federal counterfeit headphones case which the company started last year after suing 17 firms for manufacturing and selling knockoffs of the LG TONE headsets. On Thursday, a federal court in the United States ruled that LG is due $168 million in damages in addition to all related court costs and interest. Given how the Seoul-based consumer electronics manufacturer originally asked for $200 million in damages, it isn’t surprising that the company’s latest press release refers to this turn of events as a “major victory.” Apart from declaring a massive legal victory, the tech giant also promised to put a larger focus on bringing more counterfeiters to justice in the future.
The ruling was made by the District Court for the Southern District of California which agreed with LG’s assessment that thousands of customers were tricked into believing they were buying LG-made products when paying for the aforementioned knockoffs. LG Electronics MobileComm USA President Chang Ma said that this ruling shows how LG’s strategy against counterfeiters is effective, adding how more similar initiatives will follow in the near future. Ma noted how LG didn’t only sue because counterfeiters were making money using the company’s brand, but also because they devalued that same brand in the process of selling cheap knockoffs. The South Korean tech giant believes that the LG TONE lineup of headsets created an entirely new category of products which counterfeiters specifically targeted to illegally make money. Finally, the President of the company’s U.S. branch also promised that LG will do whatever it can to protect consumers and retail partners from counterfeiters in the future. However, Ma revealed no details regarding those efforts but implied that more information on the matter will be available shortly.
This legal victory aside, LG may soon find itself on the other side of the courtroom after the company was accused of infringing several GPU patents owned by AMD. In a complaint filed with the International Trade Commission (ITC) in late January, AMD accused LG, VIZIO, MediaTek, and Sigma Designs of infringing three of its GPU patents and asked the agency to investigate the matter that will likely end up with a trial.