USPTO Director issues order criticizing VLSI Technology for misleading arguments in Intel dispute

Kathi Vidal, the Director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), has criticised VLSI Technology, a company that owns computer-chip patents, for presenting misleading arguments during its dispute with Intel. Previously, VLSI had achieved a $2.18 billion patent victory against Intel in a federal court in Texas. However, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board later declared the patents invalid. Vidal accused VLSI of distorting statements from the board, misquoting them, and carelessly referencing case law in its unsuccessful patent defense.

VLSI, owned by Fortress Investment Group, a subsidiary of SoftBank, has initiated several lawsuits against Intel, alleging patent infringement. Apart from the invalidated patents, VLSI had previously won a $949 million case against Intel in another Texas case. However, in a third Texas case where VLSI sought $3.1 billion in damages, the jury ruled in favor of Intel. Recently, the two companies dismissed an additional lawsuit in Delaware, while a trial related to the case is scheduled to take place in Northern California next year.