Intel will have to pay a substantial cash amount to a company that has not existed for 20 years. A court in Texas has ordered Intel to pay $2.18 billion for infringing on patents owned by VLSI Technology, according to Bloomberg reports.
VLSI Technology seems to have risen from the dead in 2019, just to sue Intel. The last time VLSI Technology was an independent company was in 1999, when Philips acquired this chip design company for $1 billion.
All of VLSI Technology’s assets were transferred to Philips’ subsidiary NXP (known for the NFC chips used in contactless payment technology). Therefore, NXP will also receive compensation from Intel.
The most well-known project of VLSI Technology was its collaboration with Apple and Acorn to create the first ARM processor in 1985. This was the foundational design that led to the creation of ARM chips, which are found in every smartphone today.
Intel calls VLSI Technology a zombie company. Intel’s lawyer William Lee stated: “VLSI is using two patents that have not been used for 10 years and claims that ‘We want $2 billion’. That is absurd and will impact real innovators.”
However, this did not stop the jury from deciding to award 1/10 of Intel’s annual profits ($2.18 billion) for violating two of VLSI Technology’s three patents.
Intel believes that VLSI Technology deserves a maximum of $2 million. “Intel completely disagrees with today’s jury verdict. We plan to appeal and are confident that we will win.”
Source: theverge