Marvell vs CMU: Claim Analysis

Case Summary

The case involves Marvell, a large semiconductor company versus Carnegie Mellon University, a large research university in Pittsburgh.

The verdict: 

CMU wins $750 million from Marvell. However The university expects to receive about $250 million from the settlement after legal fees and related costs. A significantly less amount than the headlines state.

Patents in Litigation

1. No. 6,201,839: “Method and Apparatus for Correlation-Sensitive Adaptive Sequence Detection”
2. No. 6,438,180: "Soft and Hard Sequence Detection in ISI Memory Channels.”

Claim #1 of Patent #1

Patent link:http://www.google.com/patents/US6201839 

1. A method of determining branch metric values for branches of a trellis for a Virterbi-like detector, comprising:

1. selecting a branch metric function for each of the branches at a certain time index; and 
2. applying each of said selected functions to a plurality of signal samples to determine the metric value corresponding to the branch for which the applied branch metric function was selected, wherein each sample corresponds to a different sampling time instant

Analysis

This patent includes a method of determining branch metric values, specifically for a trellis of a Viterbi-like detector. This means the patent only applies to a "Viterbi-like director" 

• The fist application means that the function is related a "certain time index". Essentially, if there is not a time index, the patent doesn't apply to this method of determining branch metric values.
• The functions have to be for a plurality of signal samples used in determination for method 1. Moreover, each signal sample is for a different sampling time insert of the determination for method 1. This means that if the same signal is used each time, the patent is applied. 

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