R2 Semi claims many Intel processors could be banned in Europe

Business news | February 13, 2024

By Peter Clarke

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R2 Semiconductor Inc. (Palo Alto, Calif.), has said many of Intel’s server processors could be banned from being sold in Europe after a recent intellectual property ruling in a German court.

The IP licensing company added that Intel’s plan to invest more than €30 billion in wafer fabs in the German city of Magdeburg, could be impacted by the injunction (see Intel increases its bid for German fabs).

The Dusseldorf Regional Court ruled that Intel infringed on R2’s European patent for integrated voltage regulation technology. This is thought to include a means of implementing dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS). The court issued an injunction prohibiting Intel in Germany from selling, importing or making chips with the infringing technology, which is especially prominent in Intel’s server processors. The injunction also applies to Intel customers Dell, HP and HPE.

R2 Semiconductor said it would be seeking to extend the injunction beyond Germany and across the European Union and the UK.

Intel has appealed against the ruling and is also seeking to get the European patent invalidated, R2 Semiconductor said. Intel has also reportedly said the injunction would only apply to some older processors – Ice Lake, Tiger Lake and Alder Lake – of which two have already been discontinued.

However, R2 said that the incremental nature of Intel’s processor development meant that it was likely that many processors introduced subsequently could make use of the same voltage regulation techniques and may also be subject to the injunction. R2 added that Intel, Dell, HP and HPE must provide R2 with a list of all processors that make use of the same voltage regulation techniques. He added that newer chips such as those in its 13th and 14th generation, such as Raptor Lake, may be within the scope of the injunction.

A US patent on power management held by R2 Semiconductor was invalidated in November 2019 after a similar legal battle between R2 Semiconductor and Intel in the US courts.

R2 Semiconductor said in statement that although it appeared that Intel had appealed the latest ruling, German courts do not typically stay an injunction during appeals – which means the injunction would remain in place through 2025, at a minimum.

R2 Semiconductor also said it has filed a law suit against Intel in the UK on the same grounds and where an injunction is also sought. R2 said that the European patent is different to the US patent that Intel challenged, so the prior litigation history is nott relevant to the current situation.