Harman International Industries, Inc., commonly known as Harman, is an American audio electronics company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Founded in 1980, the company has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. since its acquisition in March 2017. Harman employs approximately 30,000 people globally and reported estimated annual revenue of around $8.8 billion.
Harman designs and engineers a broad range of connected products and solutions for automotive, consumer, and enterprise markets. Its offerings include high-fidelity audio systems, wireless speakers, headphones, and soundbars marketed under numerous prominent brands such as AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon, Mark Levinson, Revel, and more recently, Bowers & Wilkins, Marantz, Denon, and Polk Audio. For the automotive sector, Harman provides connected car systems, infotainment, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), cybersecurity, and telematics. The company also supplies professional audio, video, and lighting solutions for live performance, recording, and commercial environments.
In terms of patent litigation, Harman International Industries, Inc. operates as an operating company that defends against infringement claims. The company has no tracked cases as a plaintiff and one tracked case as a defendant. This single case, Freedom Patents, LLC v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al., filed on June 14, 2024, is notable for being lodged in the Eastern District of Texas, a venue frequently favored by patent assertion entities. Given Harman's ownership, its inclusion as a co-defendant with its parent company, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., is consistent with its subsidiary status.