Netflix Files Lawsuit Against Broadcom Over VMware Patent Infringement
Netflix has initiated a legal battle against Broadcom, alleging that VMware, a Broadcom subsidiary, has infringed on several of its patents related to virtual machine technology. The streaming giant claims that VMware’s products, including vSphere and its cloud solutions, violate five Netflix patents aimed at optimizing and managing virtual machines efficiently.
The patents in question cover foundational technologies that ensure virtual machines operate seamlessly. Three of these patents focus on tracking and allocating CPU resources, while the remaining two detail methods for load balancers to initiate virtual machines on physical servers dynamically.
According to Netflix, VMware’s virtualization technologies directly employ these patented innovations without authorization. The lawsuit, filed in a California federal court, states that VMware’s products such as vSphere Foundation, VMware Cloud Foundation, and their cloud offerings on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, “willfully and deliberately” infringe upon Netflix’s intellectual property.
Claims of Longstanding Knowledge
Netflix argues that VMware has been aware of the potential infringement since 2012, citing instances where some of Netflix’s patents surfaced during VMware’s own patent applications. Despite this, Netflix alleges that VMware continued to use the patented technologies without seeking a license, leading to what they describe as deliberate infringement.
Broadcom’s Acquisition and Ongoing Legal Disputes
Netflix is seeking monetary damages from Broadcom, which acquired VMware in 2022 for $69 billion. The lawsuit adds another layer to the ongoing legal tensions between Netflix and Broadcom, which date back to 2018.
In the earlier dispute, Broadcom sued Netflix for allegedly violating patents related to video streaming technology, a move coinciding with Netflix’s pandemic-fueled growth that reportedly impacted Broadcom’s TV set-top box chip sales. That legal battle spans multiple jurisdictions, including the U.S., Germany, and the Netherlands, with the U.S. trial set for June 2025.
Industry Implications
The outcome of Netflix’s latest lawsuit could have significant ramifications, given VMware’s central role in enterprise data centres and cloud infrastructure worldwide. As both parties remain silent on the case, industry watchers are closely monitoring developments that could impact not just the litigants but broader cloud and virtualization markets.
