Qimonda Strikes Out at ITC
We've written before about the increasing popularity of the ITC as a patent litigation forum, particularly for semicon companies. However, success at the ITC is turning out to be a bit more elusive than hoped for by patent owners. In the latest setback for a semicon company at the ITC, Qimonda last week lost the first round to LSI and Seagate. Last year, Qimonda asked the ITC to investigate LSI's and Seagate's importation of certain chips. Of the four patents asserted (USP 6495918, USP 5851899, USP 5646434, and USP 5213670), three were found to be not infringed and one was invalid.
Perhaps more interesting is that Judge Rogers found that a domestic industry doesn't exist - i.e., Germany based Qimonda doesn't have enough activity in the U.S. to qualify for protection under Section 337.
