Shares in Ability Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd (先進光電) fell by the daily maximum in Taipei yesterday after the company lost a suit against longer rival Largan Precision Co (大立光) at the Intellectual Property Court.
The court on Wednesday ruled in favor of Largan and requested NT$1.52 billion (US$50.62 million) in compensation from Ability for stealing trade secrets.
Ability denied the accusations made by Largan and expressed disagreement with the court’s decision to compensate Largan.
Taichung-headquartered Ability said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange that it would discuss the matter with its lawyers after receiving court documents.
The company would consider appealing the court’s ruling to protect its interests, it said, adding that it would halt an on-going capital increase scheme to safeguard shareholders’ interests.
Its board had approved the NT$600 million recapitalization scheme in September by issuing 10 million new common shares with the aim to bolster its working capital and repay bank loans.
Ability shares yesterday closed at NT$54.3 on the Taipei Exchange, down 9.95 percent from the previous session and underperforming the over-the-counter market’s 0.91 percent decline.
Largan shares rose 0.82 percent to NT$4,300, compared with the main bourse’s 0.37 percent fall, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Largan yesterday said in a separate filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange that it welcomes the victory in the four-year lawsuit against Ability, adding that the company would make every effort to protect its intellectual property rights.
Largan in 2013 sued Ability for allegedly infringing on some of its patents that it had registered in Taiwan, China and the US, accusing former employees of stealing trade secrets related to its automation and process technologies and passing them to its rival.
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