Micron wins $445 million US judgment in Netlist patent trial. By Reuters

blake briton

(Reuters) – Chipmaker Micron Technology (NASDAQ:) is in debt to a computer memory company. netlist (OTC:) Netlist was awarded $445 million in damages for violating its patents on memory module technology for high-performance computing, a U.S. jury said Thursday.

Jurors in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas agreed with Netlist’s claim that Micron’s semiconductor memory products infringed two Netlist patents related to capacity and performance enhancement technologies for memory modules.

The jury also concluded that Micron knowingly infringed the patent, which allowed the judge to increase the damages award by up to three times.

A Micron spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.

“We are grateful to the judges for their service and recognition of the importance of Netlist innovation,” Jason Sheasby, an attorney for Netlist, said in a statement.

Last year, Netlist won a $303 million judgment against Samsung (KS:) in the same court in a dispute over high-performance computer memory patents.

Shares of Boise, Idaho-based Micron have soared this year due to demand for chips used to power artificial intelligence technology. Irvine, California-based Netlist filed a lawsuit against Micron in 2022, alleging that three lines of semiconductor memory modules infringed on its patents.

Micron denied the claims and raised several defenses, including that the patent was invalid.

A U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tribunal invalidated one of the patents last April, which could ultimately reduce the size of the ruling.