There has been a new twist in an ongoing, multibillion-dollar patent battle between Intel and semiconductor patent holder VLSI , with anonymous allegations being mailed to the House Oversight Committee regarding Intel’s interactions with the Patent Trial Appeals Board (PTAB).
The anonymous letter sent to the House Oversight Commmittee concerns an ongoing legal dispute between Intel and VLSI Technology LLC, the latter of which owns a portfolio of patents in the semiconductor industry. Intel is calling on the anonymous author to come forward so that “may judge for itself the credibility of the letter and its author.”
Pat Gelsinger Intel CEO (Web Summit/FLickr)
The Intel logo is displayed at the entrance of Intel Corp. headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, April 18, 2011. Intel Corp. reports quarterly financial earnings Tuesday, April 19, 2011, after the market close. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
The report alleges that Intel created a shell company called the Patent Quality Assurances (PQA) following losses in court cases against VSLI, which then appealed to the Patent Trial Appeals Board (PTAB) to overturn VLSI’s patents and release Intel from liability.
The PQA’s creation followed a series of court defeats for Intel. On March 2, 2021, a federal jury ordered Intel to pay VLSI $2.18 billion after it lost a patent-infringement trial over technology related to chip-making — one of the most significant patent-damage awards in U.S. history which has since been in the appeals process.
Another verdict came in November, when Intel was found to be violating a VLSI patent designed to improve computer processor performance and ordered the technology giant to give VLSI $948 million.
Intel could not undertake the PTAB appeal themselves as they were a party to the losing lawsuit which precludes using the PTAB.
In July 2021 Intel petitioned the PTAB to become an interpolator (a party related to challenges so VLSI’s patent) in PQA’s case against VLSI and is allowed by the PTAB to join each case as a co-challenger.
Kathi Vidal, the Director of the USPTO and Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, questioned Intel and PQA about their connection, inquiring whether they share common agents, investors, and lawyers. Intel and PQA responded in the negative.
“Intel conducts its business with uncompromising integrity and has been recognized as one of the world’s most ethical companies,” an Intel spokesman told Breitbart News. The spokesperson added, “The allegations in the anonymous letter are false, and we have not been contacted by any House office or Committee regarding this matter.”
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.