[Hardware] Intel Fails to Reverse $2.18 Billion Patent Infringement Verdict

[MERNIZ]

Intel may need to pay nearly $2.2 billion to VLSI

This week, a District Judge in Waco, Texas denied Intel's request to overturn an order that it pay $2.18 billion for infringing VLSI's patents, Reuters reports. Back in March, Intel was ordered to pay VLSI nearly $2.2 billion in damages for the intellectual property originally developed by Freescale Semiconductor and SigmaTel. Intel denies that it had used the IP illegally and had asked for a new trial.  

Earlier this year, a District Judge in Waco, Texas, awarded VLSI with a $1.5 billion payment for one patent and $675 million for another. The IP in question is the '759 patent' describing frequency management (originally developed by SigmaTel) and the '373 patent' relating to a method to lower the memory's minimum operating voltage (originally filed by Freescale).  

If Intel does not have more options to appeal the decision, it will have to pay the damages to VLSI, a company it considers a patent troll.  

Intel and VLSI have a large ongoing legal battle in different states over eight alleged violations of VLSI's intellectual property. According to Intel's filings with SEC, VLSI seeks a total of $7.1 billion in damages, future royalties, attorney's fees, costs, and interest. Intel claims that its total payments could be as high as $11 billion if it loses legal battles in all states.  

Back in April, Intel won a patent trial with VLSI and avoided payment of over $3 billion for other patents that were used to target Intel's SpeedShift technology introduced in 2014, but which is heavily based on the SpeedStep technology that originally emerged in the early 2000s.