Intel to Pay $949 Million for VLSI Computer Chip Patent Infringement
A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday said Intel Corp must pay VLSI Technology LLC $948.8 million for infringing VLSI’s patent for computer chips.
VLSI, a patent-holding company affiliated with SoftBank Group’s private equity firm Fortress Investment Group, argued during the six-day trial that Intel’s Cascade Lake and Skylake microprocessors infringed on its developments that cover the data processing patent.
An Intel spokesman said the company “strongly disagrees” with the decision and plans to file an appeal, and that the case is “one of many examples that show that the US patent system urgently needs to be reformed.”
VLSI’s law firm declined to comment on the decision.
Last March VLSI won a nearly 2.2 billion (roughly Rs. 18,000 crore) verdict from Intel in a separate trial in Texas over various patents, which Intel had appealed. VLSI lost another related patent trial against Intel the following month.
VLSI bought the patent on the latest experiment from Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV.
A lawyer for VLSI said during the trial that Intel chips cause “millions and millions of violations per second.” The judge awarded the company the full amount of damages it requested.
A lawyer for Mountain View, California-based Intel said during the trial that the company’s engineers developed their new devices independently, and that its modern microprocessors will not work with outdated VLSI technology.
Two other patent lawsuits brought by VLSI against Intel are pending in Northern California and Delaware. The trial in the California case is expected to begin in 2024.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
