Samsung hit with $303 mln jury verdict in computer-memory patent lawsuit

Netlist

21/04/2023 22:16

By Blake Brittain
       April 21 (Reuters) - Computer-memory company Netlist Inc
 NLST.PK  convinced a federal jury in Texas on Friday to award
it more than $303 million for Samsung Electronics Co's
 005930.KS  infringement of several patents related to
improvements in data processing.
    The jury in Marshall, Texas determined after a six-day trial
that Samsung's "memory modules" for high-performance computing
willfully infringed all five patents that Netlist accused the
Korean tech giant of violating.
    Representatives for the companies did not immediately
respond to requests for comment. Netlist stock was up 21%
following the verdict on Friday afternoon.
    Irvine, California-based Netlist sued Samsung in 2021,
alleging Samsung memory products used in cloud-computing servers
and other data-intensive technology infringe its patents.
Netlist said its innovations increase the power efficiency of
memory modules and allow users to "derive useful information
from vast amounts of data in a shorter period of time."
    A Netlist attorney told the jury that Samsung took its
patented module technology after the companies had collaborated
on another project, according to a court transcript.
    Netlist had asked the jury for $404 million in damages.
    Samsung had argued that the patents were invalid and that
its technology worked in a different way than Netlist's
inventions. 
    The case is Netlist Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co, U.S.
District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, No.
2:21-cv-00463.

 (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by David
Gregorio)
 ((blake.brittain@tr.com; +1 (202) 938-5713;))