Samsung Electronics wrapped up a five-year patent dispute with U.S. memory technology corporations Netlist.
Netlist said on the 6th that Samsung Electronics signed a five-year deal that includes a cross-license of patent portfolios, memory product supply, and technology cooperation.
Under the deal, Samsung Electronics will be able to use Netlist's entire patent portfolio, including server DRAM modules (DIMMs) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) technology. In return, it will supply memory products such as DRAM and NAND flash to Netlist.
The two companies agreed to end all ongoing patent lawsuits and mutually waive related claim and legal liability as part of this settlement.
Netlist disclosed contract details in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. According to the filing, Samsung Electronics will first pay $239 million as an upfront license fee and, from the third quarter of this year through the second quarter of 2031, pay up to $32.9 million per quarter tied to sales.
If the sales-linked payments reach the maximum, the total license expense Samsung Electronics pays will come to $897 million (about 1.27 trillion won).
Samsung Electronics also agreed to purchase 10 million shares of Netlist common stock for $1 million (about 1.4 billion won). This is part of the memory supply agreement.
The settlement marks the end of a patent dispute that began in 2021. Netlist filed a lawsuit in a U.S. court at the time, saying Samsung Electronics infringed its patents in memory products and data technology for cloud computing servers.
Samsung Electronics countered that Netlist's patents were invalid and implemented differently from its own technology, but in 2023 and 2024, juries at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas returned damages verdicts of $303 million (about 430 billion won) and $118 million (about 170 billion won), respectively.
After some patents were found invalid and both sides pursued appeals, they agreed to end all legal disputes through this strategic partnership.