Netlist announced on October 6, 2026, that it and Micron had entered a five-year worldwide patent license, a settlement and release agreement covering specified pending proceedings, and a separate share-purchase agreement. The companies entered the agreements on October 5, according to Netlist’s Form 8-K.
What the five-year patent license covers
The license gives Micron rights to Netlist’s entire worldwide patent portfolio for five years. It is worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and non-sublicensable. Netlist’s announcement highlighted patents related to server DIMMs and High Bandwidth Memory.
Micron is scheduled to pay $30 million per calendar quarter for 20 quarters, from Q4 2026 through Q3 2031. Those payments total $600 million in license fees over the five-year term.
The settlement between the companies
The settlement and release agreement covers pending legal proceedings between Netlist and Micron identified in that agreement.
Micron’s separate Netlist share purchase
In a separate agreement, Micron agreed to purchase 10 million Netlist common shares for $1 million in aggregate cash consideration. Transfer restrictions lift in stages: 20% of the shares on each of the first four anniversaries of issuance, followed by the remaining shares on the fifth anniversary.
