A US semiconductor firm, Stellar Semiconductor Technologies, has taken Samsung to court over chip patent infringements. The company claims that Samsung has stolen fundamental aspects of modern smartphone chip design from Stellar patents, without permission or licence.
Stellar Semiconductor Technologies vs Samsung
First reported by Biz&Law, the patent infringement lawsuit was filed on August 7, 2026, in the Western District of Texas by Stellar Semiconductor Technologies. The lawsuit focuses on six US patents held by Stellar, numbered 9,219,140; 9,281,367; 9,589,966; 9,673,100; 9,899,267 and 12,087,666.
These patents cover the internal architecture of FinFET (Fin Field-Effect Transistor) chips, the foundation of transistor design used in all modern smartphone processors, which are 10mm or less.
FinFET chips use a 3D fin-shaped structure that wraps around a gate to prevent current from leaking across the chipset at very small sizes. Stellar's patents cover the micro-infrastructure that surrounds and supports that structure.
This includes how metal contacts connect to transistor source and drain terminals, how insulating layers are built up around the transistor, how the gate separation structures are laid out and how wiring is routed between components to prevent signal interference.
Stellar claims the brand conducted a detailed physical analysis on Samsung-manufactured hardware using high-powered optical microscopes. The brand conducted a series of tests including Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS).
Based on these, Samsung's chips were found containing the exact micro-structures Stellar's patents describe. The worst part is that Stellar neither authorised nor licensed Samsung to use this architecture design in the first place.
Related Articles
Chips and Devices Named in The Lawsuit
Stellar Semiconductor Technologies' lawsuit targets smartphone processors made by Samsung Foundry, both for its in-house Exynos chips and for third-party clients like Qualcomm. The lawsuit explicitly mentions the Exynos 1280 processor and the Exynos 1380 SoC, used in phones like the Galaxy A33 5G and the Galaxy F54.
On Qualcomm's side, Stellar mentions the Snapdragon 888 processor and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. Some examples of these SoC-powered phones are the OnePlus 9 and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Moreover, the lawsuit also extends to recent Samsung phones like the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The filing covers "Galaxy S" series smartphones, ranging from the Galaxy S10 all the way to the Galaxy S26 series and multiple generations of Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip foldables, and several Galaxy Tab tablets.
Related Articles
Stellar Seeks Compensation From Samsung
Stellar has asked the Texas federal court for a formal declaration of patent infringement from Samsung. The company is seeking monetary compensation for lost royalties and reimbursement of its legal costs.
The brand says Samsung knowingly violated patent law and asks the court to allow a judge to award treble (triple) damages on top of the standard compensation filing. Neither Samsung nor Qualcomm has issued a public statement on the lawsuit.
This is also not the first major legal challenge Samsung has faced this year. The brand is also part of a class action lawsuit against SK Hynix and Micron for allegations of deliberate DRAM price inflation. With two lawsuits under this statute tied, it could take Samsung years to resolve them and take a hit to revenues.
Related Articles
