Patents: Intel loses legal dispute, extensive sales ban on processors in Germany

Intel has suffered a legal defeat in a patent lawsuit with drastic consequences. Henceforth, Intel is no longer permitted to sell certain processors in Germany because they are said to infringe R2 Semiconductor's patents.

A slight blessing in disguise: the sales ban issued by the Düsseldorf Regional Court does not include any brand-new processors, at least for the moment, but only models from the Ice Lake, Tiger Lake and Alder Lake generations, as well as the Xeon processors from the Ice Lake generation. Since the sales ban only applies to Germany, Intel may well have fewer problems with any old stock. Issues may arise, for example, if (special) users require an older CPU as a replacement.

At its core, the legal dispute revolves around a kind of power supply technology in the processors. The recent victory at the Düsseldorf District Court comes on the back of successful proceedings in December 2023, which confirmed the validity of R2's patent.

The fronts between R2 and Intel are likely to have hardened, with an Intel spokesperson describing R2 as a company whose business activities solely consist of legal disputes. R2 has denied the accusation, stating that Intel was originally interested in investing in R2, but withdrew from negotiations shortly before a deal was reached in 2015.

In addition to a sales ban, Intel is also required to provide R2 with information about products sold in Germany that are affected by the sales ban. Intel has announced that it would attempt to appeal the ban.