Samsung’s AI Memory Push Faces Patent Battle in the US

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Samsung is facing a patent dispute in the United States over its advanced memory products. Netlist has filed legal complaints with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (EDTX). The claim targets the Korean firm’s high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DDR5 products.

Samsung’s HBM and DDR5 products are involved in patent challenges

Samsung’s memory business is seeing solid profit thanks to soaring demand for AI infrastructure. However, the latest legal challenge could put pressure on the company. Netlist alleges that Samsung’s HBM products and DDR5 RDIMM and MRDIMM memory modules infringe U.S. Patent Nos. 12,646,537 and 12,650,937. For the uninitiated, Netlist is a California-based memory technology firm with a portfolio of patented innovations.

The ‘537 patent is about vertically stacked memory dies and TSV (Through Silicon Via). The ‘937 patent relates to a memory module component called a Registered Clock Driver (RCD). Note that the complaint also names Google, Nvidia, Supermicro, and Broadcom. Netlist claims these companies use Samsung’s allegedly infringing memory technologies.

The affected products include Google’s TPU AI systems, Nvidia’s Blackwell and Rubin GPU, and Supermicro’s server products. At the ITC, Netlist is seeking exclusion and cease-and-desist orders against Samsung and the other respondents. If the commission grants the request, the accused products could see import and sales restrictions in the United States.

“Netlist continues to drive breakthrough innovations in AI memory. These enforcement actions expand our efforts to protect next-generation server DIMM and HBM technologies against unauthorized use,” said C.K. Hong, Netlist’s Chief Executive Officer.

In 2015, Samsung inked a licensing agreement with Netlist, though it breached the deal in 2020. The Korean firm lost two patent infringement cases in the U.S. federal court in Texas. Juries awarded Netlist $303 million and $118 million in damages, respectively. We will let you know the progress of the new patent violation claims in the coming months.

Written by

Binay Konwar

Binay Konwar started his blogging journey in 2014 and has since written plenty of tech articles. At present, he is working as a News Writer at SammyGuru, covering everything about Samsung. He holds a Master's degree in Mathematics, but his real passion lies in tech and writing. In his free time, he enjoys playing chess and watching movies.

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