A federal jury in California on Friday decided in favor of Seattle-based RFID-maker Impinj in a suit alleging Dutch semiconductor giant NXP had infringed two of the company’s patents. The jury found that one patent was infringed upon “willfully” and awarded Impinj approximately $18.5 million in damages and lost profits.
The technology at issue is radio frequency identification chips that connect billions of items to the internet and help companies track their products.
This is the second decision this summer that came down in Impinj’s favor. In a suit filed by NXP against Impinj, a federal jury in Washington concluded in June that Impinj was innocent of infringing on its competitor’s patents.
The two cases tie back to a 2019 patent-infringement lawsuit that Impinj filed against NXP’s UCODE products.
“We were disheartened to see a large company copy the patented inventions of a small, innovative company like ours. We take our responsibility to protect our inventions seriously, which is why we felt we had no option but to pursue litigation,” said Impinj CEO Chris Diorio, in a letter Sunday to the company’s partners and customers.
Impinj stock, which took a plunge in April after a disappointing first quarter earnings report, was up nearly 4% today.
The rivals have each sued the other twice over patent issues. Impinj has filed suits in California and Texas, and NXP has filed suits in Washington and China. The case in Texas is scheduled to go to trial in September 2023, while the case in China does not have a trial date set.
When contacted Monday for a comment, NXP spokesperson Jacey Zuniga replied by email that “as a matter of policy, we cannot comment on ongoing litigation.”
Editor’s note: Story was updated July 18 to add information on additional lawsuits and NXP’s response.
