Micron Technology Inc on Thursday said that a ban on the sale of some of its products in China is unfair, but would not hurt its earnings.
The preliminary injunction by the Fuzhou Intermediate People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China does not cover technology that is fundamental to its memory chips and therefore would only impact about 1 percent of its annual revenue, the Boise, Idaho-based company said in a statement.
“The central government of China has often stated that the rights of foreign companies are fairly and equally protected in China,” Micron said in a statement. “Micron believes the ruling issued by the Fuzhou Court in Fujian Province is inconsistent with this proclaimed policy.”
The US’ largest maker of computer memory confirmed that it received a court order telling it to stop selling certain products in China as part of a ruling in a patent infringement case brought by United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電).
The Taiwanese chipmaker was retaliating against Micron’s accusation that UMC stole chip technology and gave it to its Chinese partner, Micron said.
Micron said that none of the patents referred to in the ruling were used in its DRAM or NAND memory products.
A representative for UMC declined to comment beyond saying that the company was happy with the court’s decision.
US analysts who have been recommending Micron’s stock as it racks up record profits amid one of the strongest periods of demand in the memory chip industry’s 50-year history, expressed relief at Micron’s analysis.
The shares rose as much as 3.6 percent on Thursday, rebounding from a fall of more than 5 percent on Tuesday when UMC claimed victory in the law suit.
Micron reiterated its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue forecast of US$8 billion to US$8.4 billion.
While this ruling might have little impact on Micron’s activities in China, the company is still facing an investigation by a Chinese antitrust regulator along with its South Korean rivals, Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc, the companies have said.
Local media has reported that authorities are looking into increases in chip prices.
That has fueled concern that Micron’s legal issues have made it a pawn in the broader trade dispute between China and the US.
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