Netlist and Micron Settle With a $600 Million License, and the Federal Circuit Dismisses the Idaho Bad-Faith Appeals.

The October 16 orders

Two orders issued October 16, 2026 in Micron Technology, Inc. v. Netlist, Inc. dismiss the appeals under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 42(b) on the parties' agreement, with each side to bear its own costs. The mandate issued the same day. Nos. 2024-2281 and 2024-2282 are appeals from District of Idaho Nos. 1:24-cv-00001-DCN and 1:24-cv-00081-DCN, before Judge David C. Nye. No. 2026-1671 is an appeal from District of Idaho No. 1:25-cv-00323-AKB, before Judge Amanda K. Brailsford. The orders do not mention a settlement.

What the Idaho cases were about

According to the District of Idaho's May 20, 2025 memorandum decision in No. 1:24-cv-00001-DCN, Micron sued Netlist in Idaho state court under the Idaho Bad Faith Assertions of Patent Infringement Act, Idaho Code 48-1701 et seq., over what Micron alleged was Netlist's bad-faith assertion of a patent against it. Netlist removed the case to federal court. The court held that the case did not arise under federal patent law and, on August 13, 2024, remanded it to state court. A second Micron suit, No. 1:24-cv-00081-DCN, was also removed and remanded. Netlist appealed both remand orders, relying in part on removal under 28 U.S.C. 1442(a)(2), and the Federal Circuit consolidated the appeals under lead No. 2024-2281. The May 20, 2025 decision denied Netlist's motion to stay the remand order pending appeal, holding that the district court lacked jurisdiction to grant that relief.

The settlement and license

In a Form 8-K, Netlist reported that on October 5, 2026 it entered a Settlement and Release Agreement with Micron Technology, Inc. that settles and mutually releases all pending legal proceedings between them identified in the agreement. The same day, Netlist granted Micron a worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable five-year license to Netlist's entire worldwide patent portfolio. Micron is to pay quarterly license fees of $30 million for twenty calendar quarters, from the fourth quarter of 2026 through the third quarter of 2031, for a total of $600 million. Micron also bought 10 million shares of Netlist common stock for $1 million, subject to a lock-up that releases 20 percent of the shares on each of the first four anniversaries of issuance and the rest on the fifth. Micron's annual report for the fiscal year ended September 3, 2026 states that on October 5, 2026, Netlist and Micron agreed to dismiss all litigation claims against one another under settlement and license agreements.

Related coverage

Our earlier Netlist and Micron pages cover the August 2026 Central District of California complaint, Micron's Delaware declaratory-judgment case, and ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-1523, as well as the September 2, 2026 Federal Circuit decisions affirming the Board on five older Netlist patents.

What to watch next

Watch for dismissal and termination filings in the parties' other matters, including Central District of California No. 8:26-cv-02167, District of Delaware No. 1:26-cv-01014, ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-1523, which also names Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lenovo, and Super Micro Computer as respondents, and Netlist's newer ITC complaint docketed as DN 3939, which names Micron among the proposed respondents.