Intel, VLSI Spar Over Schrödinger’s Patents in $2 Billion Case

Most situations can’t be simplified by reference to the work of a quantum physicist. The long-running patent infringement saga between VLSI Technology LLC and Intel Corp. isn’t most situations.

Patents supporting VLSI’s historic $2.2 billion jury verdict against Intel are subject to conflicting rulings on their validity, setting the stage for a race to appeal the decisions at the Federal Circuit.

That makes the patents like Schrödinger’s cat—a theoretical feline trapped in a theoretical box with a theoretical bottle of poison that may or may not have leaked. The comparison was coined by Temple University Law professor Paul Gugliuzza, ...