VLSI Says ‘Mob’ Motive Erased Patent Behind Historic Verdict (1)

VLSI Technology LLC urged an appellate panel Friday to resurrect a patent potentially worth billions that Intel Corp. allegedly infringed—but was wiped out by an administrative tribunal.

The patent owner, a creation of Fortress Investment Group LLC, accused Intel of copying a set of patents covering semiconductor efficiency that originally belonged to NXP Semiconductors in suits filed in federal district court in California, Delaware, Texas, and in China.

The dispute resulted in a Texas federal jury awarding VLSI a historically large $2.2 billion verdict in March 2021—the first of the cases to reach a verdict. The jury attributed $1.5 billion ...