Greenthread, LLC v. Cirrus Logic, Inc.
Pending- Docket:
- 1:23-cv-00369
- Filed:
- 2023-03-31
Patents:11316014
Defendant
Cirrus Logic, Inc.
1 case as defendant.
Company profile
Company Overview
Cirrus Logic, Inc. is a public, fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 1981 in Salt Lake City as Patil Systems, Inc., it was renamed Cirrus Logic in 1984 and went public in 1989, trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker CRUS. For its 2024 fiscal year, the company reported revenue of $1.79 billion. As of 2025, Cirrus Logic had approximately 1,660 employees.
Products and Operations
Cirrus Logic specializes in low-power, high-precision, mixed-signal processing integrated circuits (ICs). The company's main product lines serve the audio and high-performance mixed-signal markets. Audio products include codecs (which integrate analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters), smart codecs with integrated digital signal processing (DSP), boosted amplifiers, and audio DSPs. These components are used in a wide array of mobile and consumer applications like smartphones, tablets, laptops, digital headsets, and automotive entertainment systems. Its high-performance mixed-signal products include camera controllers, haptic and sensing solutions, and power and battery-related ICs.
Patent Litigation Posture
Based on the provided data, Cirrus Logic is an operating company that defends itself in patent litigation. The single defendant case on record, Greenthread, LLC v. Cirrus Logic, Inc., was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. In response, Cirrus Logic took an offensive posture by filing a proceeding at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), Cirrus Logic Inc. et al. v. Greenthread, LLC, likely to challenge the validity of the patent(s) asserted against it.
The plaintiff, Greenthread, LLC, is a Texas-based entity that has asserted a family of patents related to semiconductor devices with graded dopant regions against multiple technology companies in various district courts. This pattern suggests that Cirrus Logic's litigation involvement is as a target of a non-practicing entity (NPE). The dual filings—a district court complaint by Greenthread and a subsequent PTAB challenge by Cirrus Logic—represent a common strategy for technology companies accused of infringement.