A federal jury in Pittsburgh returned on Wednesday a $1.17 billion verdict in favor of Carnegie Mellon University in a patent case against semiconductor manufacturer Marvell Technology Group Ltd., which the jury said infringes two of the university’s patents covering integrated-circuit technology. The verdict came after a four-week jury trial that pitted K&L Gates, Carnegie Mellon’s counsel, against Marvell’s lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
CMU sued Marvell in 2009, alleging its computer chips infringe two patents developed by CMU researchers. Marvell’s lawyers at Quinn Emanuel moved for summary judgment in 2011, arguing that the two CMU patents are anticipated by prior art. U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer of the Western District of Pennsylvania denied Marvell’s motion, but noted in her September 2011 opinion that the issue was a “close call.”
