German court blocks sale of Intel chips amid patent dispute with US rival

A court in Germany has issued an injunction against the sale of some of Intel’s chips, in a patent dispute between the U.S. tech giant and a U.S. rival that filed the complaint.

The regional court in Dusseldorf ruled in favour of the California-based R2 Semiconductor in a case involving voltage regulators, a court spokesperson said, confirming an earlier report in the Financial Times.

The court has ordered Intel to refrain from applying the patent in question in Germany, the spokesperson said.

“We are disappointed with the Regional Court of Duesseldorf’s decision, and we intend to appeal,” an Intel spokesperson said in an emailed response to Reuters.

The spokesperson said that R2 had already filed an unsuccessful suit against the company in the United States and had since “shifted its campaign against Intel to Europe”.

R2 CEO David Fisher said in a statement the company plans to, “enforce this injunction and protect our valuable intellectual property.” Reuters