April 22, 2021
(Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg)
Intel Corp. ducked getting hit with another multibillion-dollar damage award after a federal jury in Texas cleared it of claims it was infringing patents formerly owned by NXP Semiconductors NV on ways to speed up computers.
Intel doesn’t infringe two patents owned by closely held VLSI Technology LLC, according to the federal jury in Waco, Texas. The trial was held in the same courthouse where a different jury toldIntel to pay VLSI $2.18 billion over other patents last month.
This was the second of three trials in suits VLSI lodged against Intel over patents that until early 2019 were owned by Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors. A third trial, also before U.S. District Judge Alan Albright, is scheduled to begin in June.
Read More:Texas’ Distanced Juries Hit Big Tech With $3.7 Billion of Awards
In the most recent trial, VLSI was seeking $3 billion in damages, saying the inventions were critical to Intel’s ability to make chips faster and with fewer energy requirements. That’s more than 3,000 times what the patents were valued at in past acquisitions, Intel’s lawyers argued.
Intel denied using any of the inventions, saying its own engineers have spent decades developing the chips that are used in everything from laptops to military fighter planes. It also argued that the patents didn’t cover new ideas even two decades ago, when they were issued.
Intel said in a statement that it was pleased the jury “rejected VLSI’s meritless claims that Intel’s cutting-edge processors infringe expired patents on MP3 player technology.”
Original Link: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/intel-wins-billion-dollar-patent-trial-over-former-nxp-chips
