US patent tribunal sides with Intel again in $2.2 billion VLSI case

By Blake Brittain

(Reuters) – A U.S. Patent Office tribunal ruled for Intel Corp (NASDAQ:) on Tuesday on the chipmaking giant’s bid to invalidate a patent that represented $1.5 billion of a $2.18 billion verdict it lost to VLSI Technology LLC in 2021.

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board invalidated the computer chip-related patent after canceling another VLSI patent that accounted for the remainder of the Texas federal court verdict last month.

VLSI can appeal both decisions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

An Intel spokesperson said the company was pleased with the decisions to invalidate both of VLSI’s “low-quality” patents. Representatives for VLSI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

VLSI, a patent holding company that has brought several infringement lawsuits against Intel, won a separate verdict worth $949 million against the chipmaker in Texas last year. A jury ruled for Intel in 2021 in another Texas patent case in which VLSI had sought $3.1 billion in damages.

The companies agreed to dismiss another VLSI lawsuit in Delaware in December. A trial in a related case is scheduled to begin in Northern California next year.

VLSI is owned by investment funds managed by SoftBank Group Corp subsidiary Fortress Investment Group.

The patent board proceeding decided on Tuesday was initiated by South Dakota-based Patent Quality Assurance LLC. An attorney for Patent Quality Assurance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The other patent from the $2.18 billion verdict was challenged by a separate entity called OpenSky Industries LLC. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal sanctioned OpenSky last year after finding it tried to extort both Intel and VLSI, but allowed the proceeding to continue with Intel leading it.

The case is Patent Quality Assurance LLC v. VLSI Technology LLC, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, No. IPR2021-01229.

For PQA and Intel: Benjamin Fernandez of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr; and Bruce Slayden of Slayden Grubert Beard

For VLSI: Babak Redjaian of Irell & Manella; and Kenneth Weatherwax of Lowenstein & Weatherwax

Read more:

USPTO director sanctions patent challenger in $2.1 bln Intel dispute

Intel hit with $949 mln U.S. verdict in VLSI computer chip patent trial

Intel loses U.S. patent trial, ordered to pay $2.18 billion to VLSI Tech