Korean chipmakers face lawsuit strain from US patent trolls

Korean chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung Electronics face mounting patent infringement lawsuits from NPEs including Advanced Memory Technologies, Netlist, Monolithic 3D, and Network System Technologies in U.S. courts. PTAB rejected SK hynix's patent invalidation petitions against Advanced Memory Technologies. Netlist won $421.15 million in jury verdicts against Samsung and reached $40 million settlement with SK hynix. Rising NPE attacks coincide with declining IPR grant rates under new USPTO policies favoring patent holders.