2 minute read | February.25.2026
Semiconductor company Realtek Semiconductor Corp. secured a key win in its dispute over a "bounty" patent licensing agreement by competitors that included a $1 million incentive to sue Realtek with the District Court of the Northern District of California denying the defendants' early motion for summary judgment. American Lawyer recognized the win in its Litigators of the Week column.
As a result, Realtek can continue pursuing millions of dollars in damages for the legal costs of fighting unfair patent lawsuits, as well as for lost sales tied to the weaponized patent lawsuits.
In the dispute, Realtek argues that MediaTek Inc., IPValue and Future Link conspired to misuse patent enforcement to raise Realtek's costs and harm competition. The defendants said Realtek's antitrust case should be dismissed because of earlier decisions denying Rule 11 sanctions in related patent cases in Texas, but the court said those decisions do not close the door on treating the patent litigation as "objectively baseless" in its antitrust suit.
This decision means that patent owners cannot use a lack of sanctions in failed patent cases to immunize themselves from liability under U.S. antitrust law. Allowing the case to continue to trial will also shine a light on an aspect of patent law - the licensing policies and practices of non-practicing entities - that is normally kept secret.
The Orrick team is led by Eric Hochstadt, Christopher Higgins and Anisha Dasgupta, and includes Joseph Adamson, Lauren Bernstein, Anne Corbett, Brenna Ferris Neustater, David Chamberlin, Eric Rivas, Mystic X.P. Rosa, Allen Davis, Erin Carter Tison, Michael Abrams, and Harmann Singh.