Sept 5 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence computing

giants Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) were sued in U.S.

court on Thursday for allegedly stealing a small Texas company's

data processor technology to help fuel development of AI

products.

Plaintiff Xockets accused Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) of "rampant"

patent infringement in the lawsuit, filed in Waco, Texas,

federal court.

Xockets also said the companies violated antitrust law by

conspiring with each other and with patent risk management

company RPX to fix and drive down the price of Xockets'

technology.

"Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) are abusing their dominance and market

power in AI in an attempt to pay little or nothing for the

innovations of others that are used in their products," Xockets

board member Robert Cote said in a statement.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) declined to comment. Microsoft ( MSFT ) and RPX, which is also

a defendant, did not immediately respond to requests for

comment.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) has invested billions into a partnership with

ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which has become the face of generative

AI. Nvidia's ( NVDA ) equipment is used in data centers that help develop

and run AI systems.

Xockets, founded in 2012, said its inventions for "data

processing units," or DPUs, are essential elements in some of

Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Microsoft's ( MSFT ) systems.

It said its technology allows computer systems to offload

and accelerate some tasks that would otherwise overburden server

processors.

The lawsuit said Xockets sought to license its technology to

Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ), but the companies formed a pact to channel

any licensing negotiations through RPX.

Xockets said it was seeking unspecified triple damages and a

court order that would block the sale of products that allegedly

contain patent-infringing technology.

The case is Xockets Inc v Nvidia ( NVDA ), Microsoft ( MSFT ) and RPX, U.S.

District Court for the Western District of Texas, No.

6:24-cv-00453-ADA.

For Xockets: Jamie McDole of Winstead; Jason Sheasby of

Irell & Manella; and Max Ciccarelli of Ciccarelli Law Firm

For defendants: No appearances yet

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