Netflix has taken legal action against Broadcom and VMware in a district court in California, claiming that they have violated its virtual machine (VM) patents. The lawsuit concerns five specific patents: the 424 patent, 707 patent, 891 patent, 893 patent, and 122 patent. These patents involve technology connected to CPU utilization in VMs and the establishment of VMs on physical hardware.
Accusations and Responsibilities
In its legal filing, Netflix states that Broadcom should be held responsible for all patent violations, given that VMware operates as a subsidiary of Broadcom. The complaint further asserts that VMware gained its standing in the market by "using technological advancements made by others." Netflix is focusing on the cloud services offered by VMware, including those on AWS, Azure, Alibaba Cloud, Google Cloud, Oracle, IBM, and other products or services that are based on "vSphere."
Legal Demands and Future Battles
Netflix is seeking the court to "grant damages" for the infringement, either from Broadcom alone or jointly with VMware, along with any applicable interest. Notably, Broadcom purchased VMware for a staggering $69 billion in November of the previous year. Additionally, Netflix and Broadcom are set to clash again in June 2025 regarding a separate case where Netflix has accused Broadcom of infringing its video streaming patents.
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