Judge Denies Mistrial: Marvell $1.17 Billion Case

A federal judge on Friday [Aug 23] denied Marvell Technology Group Ltd’s request to declare a mistrial in a patent infringement case in which a jury awarded $1.17 billion in damages to Carnegie Mellon University, Reuters has reported.

Carnegie Mellon sued Marvell in 2009 over patents related to how accurately hard disk drive circuits read data from high-speed magnetic disks.

The Pittsburgh-based university said at least nine Marvell circuit devices incorporated the patents, and that the infringement let the company sell billions of chips using the technology without permission.

Reuters reported that Marvell asked the judge to declare a mistrial, agreeing Carnegie Mellon’s lawyer made “improper, misleading and prejudicial comments during closing arguments that inflamed the jury.”

U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer denied the request, and Marvell plans appeal the decision to the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington.

The damages awarded were of the largest a U.S. jury in a patent infringement case, following a $1.05 billion award to Apple against Samsung Electronics Co concerning the smartphone design.

Marvell Technology Group is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

#BermudaBusiness

Category: All, Business, technology