MStar Semiconductor Inc (晨星科技), Taiwan's biggest maker of controllers for flat displays used in computers and televisions, said yesterday it plans to file an appeal against a patent infringement ruling that favors the plaintiff -- Genesis Microchip Inc.
Under a ruling by the International Trade Commission (ITC) over the weekend, MStar Semiconductor, along with its Taiwanese peers Media Reality Technologies Inc (晶捷科技) and Trumpion Microelectronics Inc (創品), were found guilty over infringing on a patent for a method to improve images on liquid-crystal-display (LCD) monitors.
The company has been challenging Genesis Microchip, the world's top supplier of such controllers for LCD computer monitors and flat-screen TV sets, for over a year.
The Hsinchu-based chipmaker said in response that, "MStar believes that the ITC's decision is wrong and plans to appeal the decision in US Federal Circuit Court."
The trade commission also issued an order to embargo imports of the company's display controllers into the US, as well as computer and TV screens that contain the products.
US officials will begin blocking the goods in 60 days.
"There will be no disruption to imports of new MStar chips or display monitors containing our new chips," MStar President Steve Yang (
The new products were not implicated in the ongoing patent lawsuits, he said.
One market watcher said the import ban will eat into the company's bottom line and limit its development of new chips.
"The import restriction will take a serious toll on the chipmaker, as controllers used in computer monitors and TVs make up a big chunk of the MStar's sales," said David Liu (
Liu said local chipmakers should brace for more patent disputes as larger international rivals use legal means to thwart Taiwanese startups, which are generally more cost-competitive.
Five months before the ITC's ruling, Media Reality applied to terminate share trading on Taiwan's emerging-market bourse in March, as it was unable to sustain huge losses from law suits with Genesis. Trumpion Microelectronics also decided to phase out production of its LCD controllers as a result of legal pressure.
As of press time, Media Reality and Trumpion Microelectronics could not be reached for comment about the ruling.
"We are delighted with the ITC's decision to uphold the findings of the administrative law judge," Eric Erdman, an interim chief executive officer at Genesis Microchip, said in a statement yesterday.
Genesis Microchip shares rose US$0.63 to US$12.58 at 5:20pm on the NASDAQ share market. The shares have fallen 30 percent in the past 12 months.
With an approval rating of just two percent, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte might be the world’s most unpopular leader, according to pollsters. Protests greeted her rise to power 29 months ago, and have marked her entire term — joined by assorted scandals, investigations, controversies and a surge in gang violence. The 63-year-old is the target of a dozen probes, including for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal inevitably dubbed “Rolexgate.” She is also under the microscope for a two-week undeclared absence for nose surgery — which she insists was medical, not cosmetic — and is
CAUTIOUS RECOVERY: While the manufacturing sector returned to growth amid the US-China trade truce, firms remain wary as uncertainty clouds the outlook, the CIER said The local manufacturing sector returned to expansion last month, as the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.1 points to 51.0, driven by a temporary easing in US-China trade tensions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 signaling contraction. “Firms are not as pessimistic as they were in April, but they remain far from optimistic,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said at a news conference. The full impact of US tariff decisions is unlikely to become clear until later this month
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce
RSS