The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) this week ruled in favor of Intel and invalidated one of VLSI's patents that is central to the $2.18 billion patent infringement verdict from 2021, reports Reuters. The significant ruling comes on the heels of the invalidation of another VLSI patent that was a part of the same verdict back in May.
Back in 2021, a District Judge in Waco, Texas, sided with VLSI and awarded a $2.18 billion patent infringement payment: $1.5 billion for a SigmaTel-developed frequency management patent ('759'), and $675 million for a Freescale-originated memory voltage reduction method patent ('373'). Intel appealed the decision, but failed to overturn it in August, 2021, so Intel turned to the PTAB to invalidate both patents.
"We find [Intel] has demonstrated by a preponderance of evidence that the challenged claims are unpatentable," a ruling by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board reads.
The decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board potentially vacate Intel from paying VLSI for allegedly infringing its 759 and 373 patents. Meanwhile, VLSI, which has engaged in numerous patent infringement cases against Intel, now has the right to appeal PTAB's decisions at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Intel and VLSI have been engaged in extensive ongoing litigation in numerous courts within the U.S. and abroad. VLSI alleges that Intel has violated 19 patents initially filed by Freescale, SigmaTel, and NXP. While some of these claims have been rejected by jury decisions, some of these cases remain unresolved.
Back in December, 2022, the two companies agreed to end their $4 billion patent dispute in Delaware. Yet, in November, 2022, a Texas federal jury ruled that Intel must compensate VLSI close to $949 million for violating its 7,242,552 patent, which covers a technique designed to mitigate issues caused by stress exerted on bond pads.
While it looks like Intel is winning its legal disputes with VLSI, the fight is not over yet.
