Marvell Ordered to Pay $1.17 Billion in Carnegie Mellon University Patent Case
A jury on Wednesday hit Marvell Technology Group with a billion-dollar verdict, ruling that the US chip maker “willfully” infringed on patents held by Carnegie Mellon University.
Northern California-based Marvell violated CMU patents on technology that increase the accuracy of reading data from high-speed magnetic disks, according to a verdict delivered in federal court in the state of Pennsylvania, where the university is based.
Jurors rejected the argument by Marvell that the CMU patents were not valid and ordered Marvel to pay $1.1 billion in damages, according to the K&L Gates legal team that represented the university at trial.
[quote]”We take special pride in this trial victory because of the decades-long relationship between our firm and Carnegie Mellon University and our deep appreciation for CMU’s path breaking and leadership role in the Information Age,” said law firm partner Peter Kalis.[/quote]
Shares of Marvell fell 10.3 percent on Wednesday, closing down 85 cents at $7.40 on the Nasdaq.
Carnegie Mellon said it was gratified by the verdict. “Protection of the discoveries of our faculty and students is very important to us,” it said.
Marvell is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Its U.S. operating unit Marvell Semiconductor Inc is based in Santa Clara, California, and was also a defendant in the case.
The company posted a $615.1 million profit on net revenue of $3.39 billion in its most recent fiscal year, which ended on January 28. It counts Western Digital Corp and Seagate Technology Plc among its largest customers.
