3 days ago
Intel wins jury trial over patent licenses in $3 billion VLSI fight
May 29 (Reuters) - A Texas federal jury determined on Thursday that Intel (INTC.O), opens new tab may have a license to patents owned by VLSI Technology, boosting Intel's efforts to overturn patent infringement verdicts that awarded VLSI more than $3 billion in damages.
The jury agreed with Intel that Fortress Investment Group controls both VLSI and fellow Fortress affiliate Finjan Inc. Intel has argued that Fortress' control of both companies means that the chipmaker's patent license with Finjan also applies to VLSI.
A VLSI spokesperson declined to comment other than to confirm the verdict. An Intel spokesperson also declined to comment.
VLSI has sued Intel in multiple U.S. courts for allegedly infringing several patents covering semiconductor technology. A jury in Waco, Texas awarded VLSI $2.18 billion in their first trial, opens new tab in 2021, which a U.S. appeals court has since overturned and sent back for new proceedings.
An Austin, Texas jury determined that VLSI was entitled to nearly $949 million from Intel in a separate patent infringement trial in 2022. Intel has argued in that case that the verdicts should be thrown out based on a 2012 agreement that gave it a license to patents owned by Finjan and other companies "under common control" with it.
U.S. District Judge Alan Albright held the latest jury trial in Austin to determine whether Finjan and VLSI were under the "common control" of Fortress. VLSI said it was not subject to the Finjan agreement, and that the company did not even exist until four years after it was signed.
A consortium led by Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company acquired a majority stake in Fortress last year from Japan-based Softbank Group Corp.
