Samsung and LG are both based in South Korea, but nationalism doesn't seem to extend into the business world; both companies have been involved in legal disputes over the past few years, and the Galaxy S4 and Optimus G Pro smartphone debuts aren't relieving tensions one bit.
According to a (very brief) article in South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, LG is filing a lawsuit claiming that Samsung's eye-tracking features infringe on its own eye-tracing technology.
"South Korean manufacturers Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. are in a patent row over technology that enables users to control their smartphones with their eyes, upping the ante between them as they both plan to release flagship devices next month," Yonhap News says.
The main feature in question is the Galaxy S4's Smart Pause, which allows the smartphone to track your eye movements and pause a video as soon as your peepers look away from the screen. LG sports what's essentially the exact same feature in the Optimus G Pro, called Smart Video.
Importantly, according to The Verge, LG claims that it filed a patent application for this technology in 2009, and that's not including patent applications for other eye-tracking features that were filed in 2005.
In a completely unsurprising development, Samsung denied the allegations. The company said it used its own technology for Smart Pause, as well as "different methods for its own implementation."
As is usually the case with these things, this isn't the first time LG and Samsung have called each other out for patent violations. The Verge notes that in 2012, both companies announced 55-inch OLED television sets at the same time, and the two basked in the event by suing each other over OLED tech infringements. LCD screens have been at the heart of other suits as well, though all of these ended up being settled outside of court.
Chances are, this eye-tracking dispute will be settled as well, but it's good to know that Samsung and LG are working hard at keeping their special relationship alive and well.
