Infineon AG, Europe’s second-largest chipmaker, filed a patent-infringement complaint that seeks to block US imports of computer-memory chips by Japan’s Elpida Memory Inc.
In a complaint filed on Feb. 19 with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington, Infineon claims Elpida infringes four patents related to dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips.
TECHNOLOGY
“Infineon has always been at the forefront of advanced semiconductor processing technologies,” Hermann Eul, an Infineon management board member, said in a statement on Monday.
“We will protect our intellectual-property rights, which arise from our commitment to cutting-edge research and development,” Eul said.
Should it win the case, Infineon might be able to shut Elpida, Japan’s biggest DRAM maker, out of the US market.
The global market for DRAM chips is expected to surge by more than 40 percent this year to US$31.9 billion as prices rise and demand for personal computers recovers, research firm iSuppli Corp said last week.
In addition to Tokyo-based Elpida, the complaint names companies including the Taiwanese firms A-Data Technology Co (威剛科技), Apacer Technology Inc (宇瞻科技) and Transcend Information Inc (創見資訊), as well as Kingston Technology Co of Fountain Valley, California; Buffalo Technology Inc of Nagoya, Japan, and Austin, Texas; Corsair Memory of Fremont, California; and Mushkin Inc of Englewood, Colorado, a notice posted on the ITC’s Web site said.
ELPIDA CHIPS
Those companies make memory modules that have Elpida DRAM chips mounted on circuit boards for use in personal computers, laptops and other electronics, according to the complaint.
The Japanese company sold US$715 million worth of DRAM products in North America in the year ended March 31, according to the complaint. Elpida’s chips were made mostly in Japan, with some manufactured in Taiwan.
The patents cover ways to make the DRAM chips, including methods to improve the creation of contacts and interconnects that conduct electricity on the circuits and increased accuracy of the different layers on the chips.
Infineon reported its second consecutive quarterly profit after collective losses of more than 3.9 billion euros (US$5.3 billion) in the 10 previous quarters.
The company had to raise funds from shareholders, borrow money and sell assets to stay afloat last year.
Separately, Infineon and the IG Metall Bayern union reached a wage agreement valid from Monday to Dec. 31 of next year for the area of Bavaria.
The agreement includes a wage increase of 2.2 percent effective Oct. 1 of this year and a further increase of 2 percent as of May 1 of next year, the company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
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