Micron will appeal Netlist patent infringement verdict

Business news | May 29, 2024

By Peter Clarke

memory Patent Infringement

Micron Technology Inc. (Boise, Idaho) has said it will appeal a memory patent infringement verdict handed down by an East Texas jury earlier this month and that both the patents asserted in the case will be ruled invalid.

Jurors in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas found on Thursday May 23 that certain Micron semiconductor-memory products infringe two Netlist patents related to technology for improving the performance of memory modules. The damages were set at US$445 million but the jurors also found that Micron infringed the patents wilfully, which could lead to the judge tripling the award (see Micron faces possibility of paying US$1.3 billion in damages to HBM patent holder).

Micron has issued a statement saying: “Micron respectfully disagrees with the jury’s verdict. The vast majority of damages awarded by the jury were based on Netlist’s ‘912 patent, which was already declared invalid by the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office over a month before this trial (IPR2022-00615, Paper 96). The jury’s verdict does not affect the prior ruling that Netlist’s patent is invalid. Additionally, Micron’s evidence presented during the trial demonstrates that Micron does not infringe either of the patents asserted by Netlist.”

The statement continued: “Netlist’s ‘417 patent, which reflects less than 5 percent of the damages, is also under review by the patent office after a determination that there is a reasonable likelihood it is also invalid (IPR2023-01141, Paper 7). Micron will appeal the jury’s verdict and will defend the US Patent Office ruling that the ‘912 patent is invalid.”

Netlist had previously acknowledged the PTAB’s ‘912 patent decision on April 25 at the time of reporting the company’s 1Q24 financial results.

In a statement at that time Netlist CEO CK Hong said: “We have received some disappointing Patent Trial Board (PTAB) decisions recently, specifically in regards to Netlist’s ‘912 patent which in the past 14 years has been validated through multiple re-exams, PTAB re-exam reviews, and upheld by the Federal Circuit. We will consider all options to redress these decisions and remain committed to defending Netlist’s intellectual property rights, and focused on the goal of fairly licensing our innovative technologies.”

It could take months or years for legal proceedings to run their course. An appeal of PTAB declarations could take months and, if upheld, appeals to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals could take up to two years.