Camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co (大立光) has lodged a patent infringement complaint in the US against Taiwanese companies Ability Opto-Electronics Technology Co (先進光電) and Newmax Technology Co (新鉅科), and US notebook computer vendor HP Inc.
It marked the first time Largan has filed suit to protect its intellectual property rights for lenses used in notebook computers, although about 90 percent of its revenue is derived from lenses used in smartphones.
The Taichung-based company filed the complaint with the US Eastern District Court of Texas on Wednesday last week, accusing the three companies of infringing on four of its patents, according to information posted on the district court’s Web site.
No details about the complaint were available on the Web site. However, a report by the Chinese-language Economic Daily News said that Largan is accusing Ability and Newmax of illegally using its patents to manufacture camera lenses for notebooks, with 15 HP laptop models equipped with the problematic lenses.
“Largan has claimed that Ability illegally used four of its patents in the production of camera lenses,” Ability said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday. “The company has never intended to infringe on patents owned by other companies. We will seek a legal approach to safeguard the interests of the company and our clients.”
Ability said in the filing that it owns 235 patents granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
This is the second lawsuit Largan has filed against Ability.
In 2013, it sued Ability for theft of trade secrets in Taipei.
A preliminary ruling in 2017 by the Intellectual Property Court ruled in favor of Largan and ordered Ability to pay NT$1.52 billion (US$48.9 million at the current exchange rate) in compensation.
Ability has filed an appeal.
Newmax also denied any wrongdoing, it said in a separate exchange filing on Tuesday night.
Ability and Newmax yesterday saw their shares tumble 1.41 percent and 4.23 percent to NT$48.80 and NT$102 respectively in Taipei trading, after the patent litigation was disclosed.
Largan shares edged lower 0.11 percent to close at NT$4,530.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) secured a record 70.2 percent share of the global foundry business in the second quarter, up from 67.6 percent the previous quarter, and continued widening its lead over second-placed Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Monday. TSMC posted US$30.24 billion in sales in the April-to-June period, up 18.5 percent from the previous quarter, driven by major smartphone customers entering their ramp-up cycle and robust demand for artificial intelligence chips, laptops and PCs, which boosted wafer shipments and average selling prices, TrendForce said in a report. Samsung’s sales also grew in the second quarter, up
LIMITED IMPACT: Investor confidence was likely sustained by its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as only less advanced chips are made in Nanjing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) saw its stock price close steady yesterday in a sign that the loss of the validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing, China, fab should have a mild impact on the world’s biggest contract chipmaker financially and technologically. Media reports about the waiver loss sent TSMC down 1.29 percent during the early trading session yesterday, but the stock soon regained strength and ended at NT$1,160, unchanged from Tuesday. Investors’ confidence in TSMC was likely built on its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as Chinese customers contributed about 9 percent to TSMC’s revenue last
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump weighed in on a pressing national issue: The rebranding of a restaurant chain. Last week, Cracker Barrel, a Tennessee company whose nationwide locations lean heavily on a cozy, old-timey aesthetic — “rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table” — announced it was updating its logo. Uncle Herschel, the man who once appeared next to the letters with a barrel, was gone. It sparked ire on the right, with Donald Trump Jr leading a charge against the rebranding: “WTF is wrong with Cracker Barrel?!” Later, Trump Sr weighed
LOOPHOLES: The move is to end a break that was aiding foreign producers without any similar benefit for US manufacturers, the US Department of Commerce said US President Donald Trump’s administration would make it harder for Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc to ship critical equipment to their chipmaking operations in China, dealing a potential blow to the companies’ production in the world’s largest semiconductor market. The US Department of Commerce in a notice published on Friday said that it was revoking waivers for Samsung and SK Hynix to use US technologies in their Chinese operations. The companies had been operating in China under regulations that allow them to import chipmaking equipment without applying for a new license each time. The move would revise what is known
RSS