Intel Corp on Wednesday dodged 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 does not 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 last month told Intel to pay VLSI US$2.18 billion over other patents.
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 US District Judge Alan Albright, is scheduled to begin in June.
Photo: Reuters
In the most recent trial, VLSI was seeking US$3 billion in damages, saying the inventions were critical to Intel’s ability to make chips faster and with fewer energy requirements. That is more than 3,000 times what the patents were valued at in past acquisitions, Intel’s lawyers said.
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 said that the patents did not cover new ideas even two decades ago, when they were issued.
VLSI was seeking damages for a period beginning March 1, 2019, just before the suit was filed. One of the patents, issued in 2002, expired in November last year, while the other was issued in 2003 and expires next month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Law.
Intel reported US$20.9 billion of net income on US$77.9 billion of revenue last year.
VLSI was created in 2016 by the Softbank Group Corp-owned Fortress Investment Group, according to an antitrust lawsuit Intel and Apple Inc filed against Fortress.
Fortress has “deployed patents in waves of lawsuits against their targets without regard for the merits of the claims,” Intel and Apple said in the complaint, which is pending in a federal court in California.
A federal judge had initially tossed the antitrust case, but Apple and Intel amended their complaint a week after the US$2.18 billion verdict, arguing that trial and VLSI’s demand for billions more over other patents is evidence of Fortress’ anticompetitive activities.
Fortress is to respond by Monday.
VLSI has no products and its only potential revenue is its litigation against Intel. VLSI lawyer Morgan Chu of Irell & Manella told the jury not to be distracted by that issue.
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