Intel sues R2 to overturn EU patent aimed at curbing its Germany exports - report

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) has filed a suit in Italy to overturn a European patent owned by R2 Semiconductor which could block the tech giant from exporting some of its products to Germany, MarketWatch reported.

Intel is looking to invalidate a patent granted to Palo Alto, Calif.-based R2 Semiconductor by Europe's centralized patent office in 2020 for a technology used to curb the amount of energy used in microchips, the report added.

The Milan lawsuit is among a larger legal tussle between the two companies which started in 2017, when R2 filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against Intel in the U.S. alleging that the tech giant was using R2's proprietary technology in its products.

Earlier this month, Daniel Loeb's hedge fund Third Point – which owns about 75% stake in R2 – confirmed that it has been funding R2's long legal battle against Intel, the report noted.

In February, a German court issued an injunction against the sale of some Intel chips, after ruling in favor of R2, which alleged Intel of infringing its patent related to voltage-regulating technology in chips. Intel was "disappointed" with the decision and planned to appeal.

R2 had already won one legal victory in the German Federal Patent Court in December, which decided that its patent was valid. Previously, R2 had lost a case in the U.S. The company has brought a similar patent lawsuit in the U.K.

R2 is scheduled to face Intel at the trial in London in April, which could see it enforce the European patent in the U.K. Third Point has indicated that R2 could look to enforce its patent in other European countries, according to the report.

Intel, which is currently in discussions with R2, thinks that R2 is seeking to coerce it into settling out-of-court using the threat of patent infringement lawsuits in the U.K. Germany, and elsewhere in Europe, the report added.

Earlier this month, R2 filed separate suits against Fujitsu (OTCPK:FJTSF) (OTCPK:FJTSY) and Amazon's (AMZN) Amazon Web Services looking to restrict them from using the patented technology in Intel's products, the report noted.

R2 noted that its European patent is different from the one Intel successfully challenged in the U.S., as per the report.