Qimonda Strikes Out at ITC

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Chun Ng

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. 

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LSI and Agere Systems settle with ITC respondants

Posted on August 12, 2009 by Campbell Chiang

We've covered the value of ITC 337 actions in prior posts, and the recent events have continued the trend. MagnaChip has settled its patent dispute before the ITC with LSI and Agere Systems. On July 21, the Administrative Law Judge issued an initial determination terminating the investigation against MagnaChip after it reached a settlement and patent licensing agreement. Just the previous week, two respondents, Microchip Technology and Dongbu HiTek Semiconductor were also dropped from the suit based on a settlement with the complainants.

The settlement terms are all confidential, which makes it difficult to analyze any settlement trends. With flat to sequential growth in the semiconductor industry, respondents may be more open to settlement in order to conserve resources and capitalize on market opportunities. On the other hand, complainants may be more open to settlement in light of the fact that many competitors are struggling and are unable to pay out large settlements.
 

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