*
Caltech previously won billion-dollar verdict from Apple ( AAPL ),
Broadcom ( AVGO ) in related case
*
University has ongoing cases against HP, Dell
By Blake Brittain
March 13 (Reuters) - Microsoft ( MSFT ) has agreed to
settle a patent infringement lawsuit brought by the California
Institute of Technology, which earlier won a billion-dollar jury
verdict against Apple ( AAPL ) and Broadcom ( AVGO ) over some
of the same Wi-Fi patents.
Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Caltech told the U.S. District Court for the
Western District of Texas on Tuesday that they had settled the
case in principle and asked to pause the proceedings while they
finalize an agreement.
Details of the settlement were not immediately available. A
spokesperson for Caltech declined to comment, and
representatives for Microsoft ( MSFT ) did not immediately respond to a
request for comment on Wednesday.
Caltech accused Microsoft ( MSFT ) in 2021 of infringing Wi-Fi
related patents with devices including its Surface tablets and
laptops and Xbox video game systems. Microsoft ( MSFT ) denied the
allegations, said that the patents were invalid and argued that
it had licenses to them.
The Microsoft ( MSFT ) lawsuit followed a 2020 California jury
verdict that Caltech was entitled to $1.1 billion in damages for
patent-infringing technology in Broadcom Wi-Fi chips used in
Apple ( AAPL ) devices.
A U.S. appeals court threw out the verdict in 2022 and
ordered a new trial to determine the proper amount of damages.
Caltech, Apple ( AAPL ) and Broadcom ( AVGO ) settled their dispute last year.
Caltech has also sued HP Inc ( HPQ ) and Dell in
Texas for infringing its Wi-Fi patents in cases that are still
ongoing.
The case is: California Institute of Technology v. Microsoft
Corp ( MSFT ), U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, No.
6:21-cv-00276.
For Caltech: James Asperger, Kevin Johnson, Todd Briggs and
Brian Biddinger of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
For Microsoft ( MSFT ): Jonathan Lamberson, Alison Hanstead and Henry
Huang of White & Case
Read more:
Caltech sues Microsoft ( MSFT ) over Wi-Fi patents from $1 billion
Apple ( AAPL ) case
Apple ( AAPL ), Broadcom ( AVGO ) win new trial in $1.1 bln Caltech patent
case
Caltech ends high-stakes US patent fight with Apple ( AAPL ) and
Broadcom ( AVGO )