Micron Will Pay Netlist $600 Million for Five-Year Memory Patent License

Micron will pay Netlist $600 million over five years under a patent license settling disputes after Netlist accused Micron of infringing patents covering server memory and high-bandwidth memory products.

The five-year Micron-Netlist license covers Netlist patents involving server dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Micron is scheduled to pay $30 million per quarter, starting in the fourth quarter of 2026 and ending in the third quarter of 2031.

Netlist filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Aug. 11, alleging that Micron infringed four patents through its DDR5 registered DIMMs and MRDIMMs. The ITC opened an investigation into that complaint on Sept. 23.

In a separate complaint filed Sept. 29, Netlist alleged infringement involving Micron's HBM3E, HBM4 and HBM4E products for AI computing. Netlist also reached a settlement with Samsung Electronics earlier in 2026 involving advanced memory technology.