Micron hit with $445 million US verdict
in Netlist patent trial
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[May 24, 2024]
By Blake Brittain
(Reuters) - Chipmaker Micron Technology owes computer-memory company
Netlist $445 million in damages for violating Netlist's patent rights in
memory-module technology for high-performance computing, a U.S. jury
said on Thursday.
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![](../images/052424PIX/busine77.jpg)
Visitors look at a memory wafer at a Micron Technology kiosk before the
start of 'SemiconIndia 2023', India's annual semiconductor conference,
in Gandhinagar, India, July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File photo |
Jurors in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
Texas agreed with Netlist that Micron's semiconductor-memory
products infringe two Netlist patents related to technology for
improving the capacity and performance of memory modules.
The jury also concluded that Micron infringed the patents
willfully, which could lead to a judge multiplying the damages
by up to three times.
Representatives for Micron did not immediately respond to a
request for comment on the verdict.
"We are grateful for the jury's service, and their recognition
of the importance of Netlist's innovation," Netlist attorney
Jason Sheasby said in a statement.
Netlist won a $303 million verdict against Samsung in the same
court last year in a related dispute over high-performance
computer memory patents.
Boise, Idaho-based Micron's stock price has surged this year
based on demand for its chips used to power
artificial-intelligence technology. Irvine, California-based
Netlist sued Micron in 2022, alleging that three of its
semiconductor memory-module lines infringed its patents.
Micron denied the allegations and raised several defenses,
including arguments that the patents were invalid.
A U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tribunal invalidated one of
the patents in April, which could eventually reduce the size of
the verdict.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by David
Bario and Lincoln Feast)
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