Google Faces Multibillion-Dollar US Patent Trial Over AI Technology

Alphabet's Google is bracing for a significant legal battle as it prepares to face a federal jury in Boston on Tuesday. The tech giant is accused of infringing patents held by Singular Computing, a company founded by Massachusetts-based computer scientist Joseph Bates. The trial, expected to last two to three weeks, revolves around allegations that Google's processors, used to power artificial intelligence in key products, infringe upon Bates' patents.

Singular Computing claims that Google replicated Bates' technology, utilizing it to enhance AI features in widely used services such as Google Search, Gmail, and Google Translate. The lawsuit, alleges that Google's Tensor Processing Units, key in boosting its AI capabilities, are based on Bates' discoveries. Singular argues that these units, particularly versions 2 and 3 released in 2017 and 2018, infringe on two of its patents.

The complaint highlights that Bates shared his computer-processing innovations with Google from 2010 to 2014. The crux of the matter is the accusation that Google's circuits utilize an improved architecture discovered by Bates, which significantly enhances processing power and revolutionizes AI training and inference processes.

Google has denied these claims. In a court filing, Google asserted that its processors function differently from Singular's patented technology, arguing that the patents in question are invalid. The company's spokesperson, Jose Castaneda, described Singular's patents as "dubious," emphasizing that Google developed its processors independently over many years. The tech giant also revealed that its engineers had reservations about Bates' technology and had explicitly rejected it as unsuitable for their applications.

The stakes are high in this legal battle, with Singular Computing requesting up to $7 billion in monetary damages. This amount is more than double the largest-ever patent infringement award in U.S. history.

In a related development, a U.S. appeals court in Washington is set to hear arguments about the validity of Singular's patents in a separate case. This case stems from an appeal by Google from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, adding another layer to the complex legal landscape surrounding this case.

As Google prepares to defend itself in court, the outcome of this trial could have significant implications for the tech industry, particularly in the realm of AI technology development.