SANTA CLARA (dpa-AFX) - A jury serving the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, in Pittsburgh, on Wednesday ordered chipmaker Marvell Technology Group Ltd (MRVL) to pay $1.17 billion in damages in a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Carnegie Mellon University.
According to law firm K&L Gates LLP, which represented Carnegie Mellon University in the case, the jury agreed that Marvell infringed Carnegie Mellon University patents relating to fundamental technology for increasing the accuracy with which hard disk drive circuits read data from high-speed magnetic disks.
The jury also made a special finding that Marvell's infringement was willful, providing the legal foundation for the judge Nora Barry Fischer to enhance the jury's verdict by increasing it by as much as three times the amount awarded by the jury, the law firm said.
The jury also disagreed with Marvell's contention that its chips did not use Carnegie Mellon University's technology and that the university's patents were invalid.
Hamilton, Bermuda-based Marvell provides a range of integrated data storage products, including hard disk drive, solid-state drive, hybrid hard disk drive, and optical disk drive controllers, as well as storage-system products.
Marvell shares closed Wednesday's regular trading session at $7.40, down 85 cents or 10.30%. The shares are currently losing 1.22% in after hours trading. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $7.05 to $16.86.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX