Intel Corporation, the global leader in chipmaking, has settled a patent lawsuit brought by wireless technology developer ParkerVision Inc. on the second day of a West Texas jury trial. An Intel spokesperson confirmed the settlement. However, they declined to provide further details. On the other hand, ParkerVision declined to comment. As per a ParkerVision filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company will receive $25 million in the settlement, including a patent licensing agreement.
The lawsuit was filed by ParkerVision in Waco, Texas in 2020, alleging that Intel had infringed several patents related to improved radio-frequency receivers. ParkerVision had claimed that it pioneered the communications technology used in Intel’s wireless chips in the mid-1990s and that the Intel chips used in smartphones, including Apple’s iPhone, infringe their patents. However, Intel denied these allegations, stating that the patents were invalid and its technology worked differently.
According to a court filing, a ParkerVision expert told the court that Intel should pay more than $294 million in royalties for the alleged infringement. ParkerVision has also sued companies such as Apple, Qualcomm, and TCL for patent infringement over wireless chips and devices that use them.
In 2014, a Florida federal judge overturned a $173 million jury verdict for ParkerVision against Qualcomm. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the decision in 2015. On the other hand, Santa Clara, California-based Intel has been hit with two verdicts in Waco for damages totaling over $3 billion in a separate and ongoing patent fight with VLSI Technology LLC over Intel computer chips.
In conclusion, the patent lawsuit settlement between Intel and ParkerVision ended a legal battle that had been ongoing for over two years. The settlement terms and the patent licensing agreement have not been made public, but the case resolution will likely significantly impact both companies. Despite the settlement, it is essential to note that ParkerVision has several other ongoing legal cases against tech companies, and it remains to be seen how these will be resolved.
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Intel, ParkerVision settle chip patent lawsuit during Texas trial