Big VLSI Verdict Exposes Divide Over Who Decides Patent Validity

VLSI Technology LLC’s third Texas patent lawsuit against Intel Corp.—which resulted in a nearly $1 billion jury verdict last week—should have gone before a specialized patent judge, several patent attorneys say, the latest flare-up in an ongoing debate over what bodies should take up questions related to patent validity.

A jury in Austin, Texas, awarded VLSI $948 million for infringement of a VLSI microchip patent. In the process, jurors rejected Intel’s argument that VLSI’s US Patent No. 7,606,983 was invalid because its innovation was obvious based on patents issued before it.

Intel tried to put that argument before a ...