USPTO Examiner Reconfirms Patentability of Netlist LRDIMM Patent Claims

Netlist, Inc. announced that the Examiner in the consolidated reexamination of U.S. Patent No. 7,619,912 (‘912 patent) issued an Answer maintaining the patentability of 92 claims related to LRDIMM.  

The reexaminations were brought in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Google Inc., Inphi Corporation, and SMART Modular Technologies, Inc.
 
The 92 patentable claims are generally directed to the fundamental concept of rank multiplication which is integral to the design of the LRDIMM. The Examiner issued the Answer on January 14, 2015, in response to voluminous appeal briefs filed by Google, Inphi, and SMART Modular. The Examiner considered arguments from all parties and ultimately maintained his conclusions as to the patentability of these claims, while maintaining the rejection of 11 other claims. The parties will now have the opportunity to file rebuttal briefs before the reexamination proceeds to the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) for oral arguments, likely later this year or early next.

“We are very pleased that the Examiner has again confirmed the patentability of these important claims in our ‘912 patent,” said Netlist VP of IP and licensing, Noel Whitley. “We look forward to the opportunity to present our case to the PTAB, and are confident that our industry-leading IP will continue to be confirmed despite vigorous challenges by our opponents.“

The ‘912 patent is also the subject of litigation between Netlist and Google in the Northern District of California and Netlist and Inphi in the Central District of California. Both sets of litigation have been stayed pending the outcome of this and other reexamination proceedings.