First NPE lawsuits over semiconductor patents reach the UPC

Two companies that do not manufacture their own products have filed their first lawsuits with the UPC. Network System Technologies recently sued Texas Instruments, Audi and Volkswagen at the Munich local division, while ICPillar is taking action against the ARM Group in Paris. Both lawsuits concern semiconductor technologies.

Prior to the launch of the Unified Patent Court, experts had expected a particularly high number of lawsuits from NPEs. However, in the first seven months, these companies have shown particular reluctance to file lawsuits with the new court. Now, according to the court’s case search, the first two NPEs have filed UPC actions.

At the beginning of January, the US company Network System Technologies, which focuses on the licensing business, sued Texas Instruments, Audi and Volkswagen for infringement of EP 1 875 683, EP 1 552 669  and EP 1 552 399 (case IDs: ACT_597692/2023, ACT_597691/2023 and ACT_597693/2023).

According to JUVE Patent information, the US company has sued over a third patent,  However, this lawsuit is not yet visible in the UPC case search. All patents relate to chip technology but are not SEPs. They cover methods for integrated circuit design and message exchange in such integrated circuits. This technology is used in electronic devices, but also in cars. Philips originally developed the technology in Europe.