Thursday, January 25th 2024

Google Faces Potential Billion-Dollar Damages in TPU Patent Dispute

Updated by
AleksandarK
 Updated: Discuss (27 Comments)
Tech giant Google is embroiled in a high-stakes legal battle over the alleged infringement of patents related to its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), custom AI accelerator chips used to power machine learning applications. Massachusetts-based startup Singular Computing has accused Google of incorporating architectures described in several of its patents into the design of the TPU without permission. The disputed patents, first filed in 2009, outline computer architectures optimized for executing a high volume of low-precision calculations per cycle - an approach well-suited for neural network-based AI. In a 2019 lawsuit, Singular argues that Google knowingly infringed on these patents in developing its TPU v2 and TPU v3 chips introduced in 2017 and 2018. Singular Computing is seeking between $1.6 billion and $5.19 billion in damages from Google.

Google denies these claims, stating that its TPUs were independently developed over many years. The company is currently appealing to have Singular's patents invalidated, which would undermine the infringement allegations. The high-profile case highlights mounting legal tensions as tech giants race to dominate the burgeoning field of AI hardware. With billions in potential damages at stake, the outcome could have major implications for the competitive landscape in cloud-based machine learning services. As both sides prepare for court, the dispute underscores the massive investments tech leaders like Google make to integrate specialized AI accelerators into their cloud infrastructures. Dominance in this sphere is a crucial strategic advantage as more industries embrace data-hungry neural network applications.

Update 17:25 UTC: According to Reuters, Google and Singular Computing have settled the case with details remaining private for the time being.
Source: The Register

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27 Comments on Google Faces Potential Billion-Dollar Damages in TPU Patent Dispute

#1
R-T-B
TechPowerUP been using the TPU acronym for longer, when does W1zzard get his cut?
Posted on Reply
#2
wNotyarD
From the title alone, I thought Google was in a patent dispute with TechPowerUp :laugh:
Posted on Reply
#3
LazyGamer
From the title i thought TechPowerUp (TPU) is in some patent dispute with google and you're gonna get BILLIONS.

Edit. LOL. I see I'm not the only one who thought this. So, which tropical island will you buy first? :laugh:
Posted on Reply
#4
Assimilator
El RegThe patents, said to have been first filed in 2009 and made public in 2010, describe a computer architecture designed to execute a large number of low-precision calculations each processor cycle.
Yet another case of something absurdly broad and likely applicable to almost any domain of hardware development that should never have been allowed to be patented in the first place, being used in a bad-faith cash-grab lawsuit. I hope Singular Computing gets their asses handed to them.
Posted on Reply
#6
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
We plan to shift offices to the Neuschwanstein Castle. I've already picked a tower for my office.
Posted on Reply
#7
wNotyarD
btarunrWe plan to shift offices to the Neuschwanstein Castle. I've already picked a tower for my office.
Please tell me you won't send the IT staff to the dungeons/catacombs.
Posted on Reply
#8
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
wNotyarDPlease tell me you won't send the IT staff to the dungeons/catacombs.
The dungeons are exclusively for VGA noise testing, and to pile up crap hardware that we never got around to review.
Posted on Reply
#9
R-T-B
btarunrcrap hardware
No that's just my bedroom. We don't talk about it, remember?
Posted on Reply
#10
bonehead123
btarunrWe plan to shift offices to the Neuschwanstein Castle. I've already picked a tower for my office.
Don't forget to buy up some property for landing & take off all those shiny new lear jets, hehehe :)
Posted on Reply
#11
Denver
Does this startup produce anything besides lawsuits?
Posted on Reply
#12
Vya Domus
DenverDoes this startup produce anything besides lawsuits?
Most startups don't produce anything, not even lawsuits.
Posted on Reply
#16
mechtech
"Singular Computing is seeking between $1.6 billion and $5.19 billion in damages from Google.

So that's about 1 week to 1 month gross income?
Posted on Reply
#17
trsttte
TumbleGeorgeTheir website is $hit. Maybe this company is fraud?
Just another patent troll, though not in the way you meant it yes, basically it's a fraud.
DeesiderThe case has just settled: www.reuters.com/technology/google-settles-ai-related-chip-patent-lawsuit-that-sought-167-bln-2024-01-24/
More companies should adopt the Cloudflare playbook, go scorched earth on them with prior art for the patent in question and anything these trolls ever touched.

blog.cloudflare.com/the-project-jengo-saga-how-cloudflare-stood-up-to-a-patent-troll-and-won
Posted on Reply
#18
Deesider
trsttteJust another patent troll, though not in the way you meant it yes, basically it's a fraud.



More companies should adopt the Cloudflare playbook, go scorched earth on them with prior art for the patent in question and anything these trolls ever touched.

blog.cloudflare.com/the-project-jengo-saga-how-cloudflare-stood-up-to-a-patent-troll-and-won
It's easy to assume that they are patent trolls based on the technology, but the evidence in the trial suggests Google may have had good reason to settle.

From the linked article:
The 2019 lawsuit said that Bates shared his inventions with the company between 2010 and 2014. It argued that Google's Tensor Processing Units copied Bates' technology and infringed two patents.
Internal emails cited during the trial's opening statements on Jan. 9 showed that Google's now-chief scientist, Jeff Dean, wrote to others about how Bates' ideas could be "really well suited" for what Google was developing.
Single statements like that don't prove anything, but they play well to a jury.
Posted on Reply
#19
remixedcat
wNotyarDFrom the title alone, I thought Google was in a patent dispute with TechPowerUp :laugh:
same lol
Posted on Reply
#21
Minus Infinity
mechtech"Singular Computing is seeking between $1.6 billion and $5.19 billion in damages from Google.

So that's about 1 week to 1 month gross income?
$200 billion just in ad revenue, so about 3-10 days ad revenue
Posted on Reply
#22
67Elco
If anyone is of the mindset that Google in any way, shape or form conducts itself with honor at all times you are delusional.
Posted on Reply
#23
Assimilator
67ElcoIf anyone is of the mindset that Google in any way, shape or form conducts itself with honor at all times you are delusional.
Nobody here is, but at first glance it appears that Google is the less evil side.
Posted on Reply
#24
TechLurker
Considering there was some reportedly actual evidence and that Google chose to settle despite their massive funds to sustain a possible series of trials, I'm kind of disappointed the smaller group didn't win this time. Just to stick one in the eye of Google. Sure, it wouldn't do much; they'd probably just buy out the smaller company outright and recoup their losses that way later on.
Posted on Reply
#25
unwind-protect
TechLurkerConsidering there was some reportedly actual evidence and that Google chose to settle despite their massive funds to sustain a possible series of trials, I'm kind of disappointed the smaller group didn't win this time. Just to stick one in the eye of Google. Sure, it wouldn't do much; they'd probably just buy out the smaller company outright and recoup their losses that way later on.
Sticking one to Google would still mean more possibly bogus patents floating around. Such patents threaten all companies, including some you like (if any).
Posted on Reply
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