Netlist files complaint seeking US import ban on Micron chips

Netlist, the Irvine, California-based memory technology company, just lobbed another legal grenade at Micron Technology. The firm filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission on September 27, 2026, seeking to block imports of Micron’s high bandwidth memory chips, the very components powering the AI hardware boom. The complaint names Google, Nvidia, and Broadcom as respondents too, since they’re the ones integrating Micron’s accused chips into their AI accelerators, GPUs, and servers. If the ITC sides with Netlist, the result could be an exclusion order that prevents those Micron chips from crossing US borders at all. What Netlist is targeting The complaint zeroes in on Micron’s HBM3E, HBM4, and HBM4E products. Netlist alleges that these Micron products infringe two of its patents: US Patent Nos. 12,308,087 and 12,646,537. By naming downstream customers like Google, Nvidia, and Broadcom, Netlist is essentially saying that anyone importing or using the infringing products should be covered by any potential ban. This is the second ITC action Netlist has brought against Micron in quick succession. An earlier complaint filed on August 11, 2026, already triggered an activ...