Intel Corp. and VLSI Technology LLC are back in Texas for their third jury trial in a set of high-dollar infringement lawsuits VLSI filed over patents formerly owned by NXP Semiconductors NV on ways to speed up computers.
A jury will be picked Monday morning in Austin, with trial scheduled to begin in the afternoon before Judge Alan Albright of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. VLSI, an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group, alleges Intel chips infringe its patented technology.
VLSI in the first trial won a $2.18 billion infringement verdict—one of the largest ever in a patent case. A jury sided with Intel in the second case, finding it didn’t infringe two VLSI patents. VLSI was asking for $3 billion dollars in the case. Both sides continue to fight their respective losses.
Barring a wide-ranging settlement, this week’s trial will not be the end of VLSI and Intel’s federal courtroom saga.
VLSI has other infringement cases against Intel in the Northern District of California and District of Delaware. Intel, meanwhile, is appealing the dismissal of a suit accusing Fortress, VLSI, and other entities of a “campaign of anticompetitive patent aggregation.”
Location Change
VLSI acquired various patents once owned by the Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors. It filed three suits against Intel in the Western District of Texas in 2019.
Intel is the only company VLSI has sued for infringement, according to Bloomberg Law data.
Their fight has led to mysterious entities filing challenges against certain VLSI patents with a patent office tribunal, raising eyebrows from some members of Congress. VLSI’s calculation of damages, using a statistical tool more often used to value real estate and cars, has also intrigued patent litigators.
The first two trials took place in Waco, following Covid-19 related courthouse closures in Austin and a back-and-forth with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The third case has remained in Austin, after Albright transferred it there from Waco for convenience reasons. Albright, a former patent litigator who was sworn in as a federal judge in 2018, continued to oversee the case following the transfer, which was his standard practice. VLSI had opposed the transfer.
It remains to be seen what, if any, impact the change in location will have on the trial.
The Waco jury pool tends to be politically and socioeconomically conservative, Texas litigators say. A jury drawing from Austin—the birthplace of Dell Technologies Inc. and home to a growing tech scene—would be expected to look different.
No PTAB Review
The trial will focus on VLSI’s U.S. Patent No. 7,606,983, covering an information processing system.
Intel asked a patent office tribunal to review the patent in early 2020, arguing many of its claims are invalid because they cover an obvious invention. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board declined the request.
The board relied on a rule that allows it to turn away a patent challenge based on the advanced stage of a parallel infringement case in federal court. At the time, the PTAB said there was “no indication that trial will occur after October 2021,” when a final decision would’ve been due.
A spokesperson for Intel declined to comment on the trial. A VLSI representative couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Irell & Manella LLP, Mann Tindel Thompson, Haley & Olson PC represents VLSI. WilmerHale, Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP, and Gillam & Smith LLP represent Intel.
The case is VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corp., W.D. Tex., No. 19-cv-977.