Court reduces judgment against Marvell to $278M, orders partial new trial in patent dispute

A federal appeals court reduced a judgment against chipmaker Marvell Technology by more than $1.25 billion, but still says the company owes Carnegie Mellon University $278 million for patent infringement.

Judge Richard Taranto of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a decision that awarded Carnegie Mellon $1.54 billion. However Taranto agreed that Marvell infringed on a patent held by Carnegie Mellon.

A previous decision awarded Carnegie Mellon a royalty payment of 50 cents for each chip Marvell sells. Taranto rejected most of Marvell's challenges to that ruling, but he said a new trial is needed to decide whether Marvell owes royalties on chips that were never brought into the U.S.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. says it is reviewing the decision. Carnegie Mellon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.