Netlist said on 29 September that it had filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission seeking to block imports of Micron memory chips used in AI computing products from Google, Nvidia and Broadcom. The complaint was first filed under seal on 25 September, Reuters reported.
Key points
- Netlist alleges that Micron chips and products made by Google, Nvidia and Broadcom infringe two patents covering high bandwidth memory.
- Its requested import ban covers Micron memory devices and graphics processing units, servers and other products incorporating the technology.
- Netlist won a $445 million patent verdict against Micron in 2024 and filed another ITC complaint involving Micron chips in August.
The ITC request reaches finished products
Netlist alleges that Micron’s chips and the technology companies’ products infringe two of its patents covering high bandwidth memory. It has asked the ITC to bar imports of Micron dynamic random access memory devices, as well as Google, Nvidia and Broadcom graphics processing units, servers and other products incorporating the Micron technology it accuses of infringement. The request therefore concerns both the memory devices and the products in which Netlist says the devices are used.
The distinction matters to the scope of the requested order. Netlist is seeking a restriction on imports of equipment from three companies alongside the Micron devices at the centre of its patent allegations. The complaint puts products used for AI computing within the proposed ban, rather than asking the trade tribunal to deal only with the memory chips. Whether any imports are barred depends on the ITC’s handling of Netlist’s request.
Netlist chief executive C.K. Hong said in a statement that the company had spent decades developing memory technologies used in AI infrastructure. He described the action as part of Netlist’s effort to protect those technologies from what it regards as unauthorised use. His account is the company’s position in a patent dispute, not an ITC finding on infringement.
Micron faces a second Netlist ITC complaint
Netlist won a $445 million patent infringement verdict against Micron in a federal court in Marshall, Texas, in 2024. The new ITC complaint places a request for an import ban alongside that earlier court verdict. It also brings Google, Nvidia and Broadcom products into Netlist’s dispute over Micron memory technology through the equipment Netlist wants the tribunal to exclude.
In August, Netlist filed another ITC complaint against Micron concerning memory chips used in products from Super Micro Computer, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Lenovo. The two complaints name different sets of products incorporating Micron chips. The September filing identifies graphics processing units and servers among the Google, Nvidia and Broadcom products covered by its requested ban.
Spokespeople for Micron, Google, Nvidia and Broadcom did not immediately respond to requests for comment on 29 September, Reuters reported. Netlist and Samsung resolved a different memory-patent dispute in August, following $421 million in verdicts Netlist had won against Samsung in the same federal court in Marshall, Texas.
