Taiwan memory chip makers breath a sigh of relief
Taiwan's memory chip makers opened the champers last
night after LSI lost its
patent-infringement claims against Nanya, Powerchip and four other companies
over computer chips that use tungsten.
All the winners in the case which included ProMOS,
Inotera and Winbond gained shedloads on their share price after the victory was
announced. LSI also sued the Israel-based Tower and its Jazz
Semiconductor unit, Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing of China, and Integrated
Device Technology of San Jose, California.
The US International Trade Commission ruled that there
was no violation of LSI's patent rights as its patent claims were
invalid. The patent, issued in 1993 to Bell Labs, covers a way of
using tungsten rather than aluminium to make chips smaller.