Did Samsung steal its “Smart Pause” feature from Queen's University? The judge will decide...

Queen's University, based in Canada,has filed a lawsuit againstSamsung Electronics for technology theft. According to public courtdocuments, between October 2003 and January 2004, the university andthe non-profit organization PARTEQ were in negotiations with theKorean company. The latter was interested in using their "AttentiveUser Interface" technology in its products.

Patented by the institution in March2003, this technology gives a device the ability to track the eyes ofa user and make it respond with a specific action. Which is exactlyhow the Galaxy devices' "Smart Pause" feature ended upworking in 2013. Samsung, however, backed out of the acquisitiontalks much earlier - around the beginning of 2004.

Thus, on January 31 2014, theuniversity and PARTEQ filled a collective lawsuit. This happensalmost ayear after Samsung revealed the Galaxy S4 and its "Smart Pause"feature, also available on the Galaxy Note 3, “Queen's Universityoffered Samsung the opportunity to license the technology to createsuch return on investment. Samsung chose not to do so, and thereforeit has no right to use our intellectual property." - theinstitution claims on its patent litigation website.

It is not yet known when the partieswill enter the courthouse to settle the matter.

via GlobalNews