A federal jury in Marshall, Texas, has ordered Samsung Electronics to pay $118 million (166 billion won) in damages to the U.S.-based semiconductor company Netlist for patent infringement, Reuters reported on Nov. 22. The case involves technology designed to enhance data processing capabilities in high-performance memory products.
According to the report, the jury found that Samsung’s infringement was willful, a determination that allows the judge to potentially triple the damages awarded.
Netlist filed the lawsuit against Samsung in 2022, accusing the South Korean tech giant of incorporating patented technology into its memory modules, which are used in cloud computing servers and other data-heavy applications. Netlist argued that its innovations boost the energy efficiency of memory modules and enable faster processing of large datasets. Samsung denied the allegations, claiming the patents were invalid and asserting that its technology operates differently from Netlist’s inventions.
In a related case, Samsung has also initiated legal action against Netlist in Delaware federal court, alleging the company violated its obligation to provide fair licensing terms for technology essential to meeting international standards.
Headquartered in Irvine, California, Netlist was established in 2000 by Hong Chun-ki, a former executive at LG Semicon. The company has achieved notable legal victories in similar disputes. Last year, a court ordered Samsung to pay Netlist $303 million (426 billion won) in damages. In May, Netlist secured a separate $445 million (625 billion won) judgment against Micron Technology over the same patents.
Reuters noted that neither Samsung nor Netlist issued statements regarding the latest verdict.
