Samsung Writes Check to Spansion for $70 Million

Earlier this afternoon, Spansion announced that it will receive $70 million from Samsung to settle current patent litigation.  The original lawsuit was filed in November 2008, and was centered around flash memory which retains data when an electrical device is turned off.  In addition, the two companies will also license their respective patent portfolios, according to Barron’s.  However, the deal is still subject to bankruptcy court because Spansion has filed for Chapter 11.

The history of the dispute between Samsung and Spansion may only be a few months old, but in that time it has spanned across continents.  Following the Spansion lawsuit in November, Samsung filed a patent infringement complaint last January in Japan.  Yet, both lawsuits will be dismissed in accordance with the agreement, and neither company will admit liability.

Spansion shareholders enjoyed a nice boost after the deal was announced, as shares jumped 70%, to 23 cents.