The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted to launch an investigation into a patent infringement allegation against Taiwanese communication network IC designer Realtek Semiconductor Corp (瑞昱半導體) and other firms.
The investigation is to look into specific graphics systems, components and digital televisions containing the parts allegedly designed with patents belonging to the complainants, the ITC said in a statement on Wednesday.
In addition to Realtek, the ITC also voted to investigate a patent infringement case against China-based TCL Technology Ltd (TCL科技) and its subsidiaries in Hong Kong and other overseas markets, the commission said.
Photo: CNA
The ITC said the decision to launch the probes against Realtek and TCL came after Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) of the US and Canada’s ATI Technologies ULC filed a complaint on May 5 saying that the firms had infringed on their patents.
The statement alleges that Realtek and TCL contravened section 337 of the US Tariff Act of 1930 for the sale of certain graphics systems, components and digital televisions containing parts that infringe on the complainants’ patents.
The complainants have requested the ITC to issue a limited exclusion order along with cease-and-desist orders, the commission said.
Realtek said in response that it cannot comment on how it foresees the investigation’s results at this time.
The ITC said that it had not made any decision on the merits of the case.
Its chief administrative law judge is to assign the case to one of the commission’s six other judges, who would hold an evidentiary hearing and issue a preliminary ruling, the statement said, adding that the ruling is subject to review by the commission, which would make a final decision.
A target completion date for the probe is to be set by the ITC within 45 days of its initiation, the commission said.
Analysts in Taiwan said chips used in TV production account for about 10 percent of Realtek’s sales, adding that the Taiwanese IC designer is expected to see some drop in consumer electronics revenue this year given weakening demand.
Realtek has expanded its efforts to upgrade its network communication IC development and enter the advanced Wi-Fi 6/6E business to offset the effects from weakening consumer electronics demand.
Realtek in the first quarter of this year posted a quarterly high net income of NT$5.19 billion (US$176.6 million), up 12.6 percent from a quarter earlier, and up 69.8 percent from a year earlier.
First quarter earnings per share stood at NT$10.15, compared with NT$9.02 a quarter earlier and NT$5.98 a year earlier.
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) suffered its biggest stock decline in more than a month after the company unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but did not provide hoped-for information on customers or financial performance. The stock slid 4 percent to US$164.18 on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since Sept. 3. Shares of the company remain up 11 percent this year. AMD has emerged as the biggest contender to Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market of AI processors. The company’s latest chips would exceed some capabilities of its rival, AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) said at an event hosted by
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
RSS