Federal Court Dismisses Power Integrations Patent Suit
May 27 2008 - 3:47PM
Business Wire
Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS) announced today that a federal
court in San Francisco has dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit
by Power Integrations, Inc. (Nasdaq: POWI) against Fairchild
subsidiary System General Corporation. The dismissal follows
actions by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejecting all of
the claims of all Power Integrations patents asserted in the case.
All asserted patents are undergoing reexamination proceedings.
Fairchild Semiconductor said it believes the patents are invalid
and was not surprised by the Patent Office actions. The lawsuit was
filed in 2004 in the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California. While the lawsuit was pending, Power
Integrations obtained an exclusion order from the U.S.
International Trade Commission (ITC), based on two of the four
patents involved in the lawsuit, barring some System General
products from importation into the United States. (Power
Integrations withdrew the other two patents during the ITC
proceedings, but had not withdrawn them from the lawsuit.) Because
of the ITC order, the affected products were withdrawn from the
market and replaced with alternative products not affected by the
order. Depending on the outcome of the Patent Office reexamination
proceedings, which are continuing, Fairchild may address the ITC
order at a later time. Fairchild acquired System General in 2007,
after the ITC order was issued and while the lawsuit was pending.
Meanwhile, Fairchild Semiconductor continues to defend separate
proceedings with Power Integrations, pending before the United
States District Court for the District of Delaware. All of the
unexpired patents asserted by Power Integrations in a lawsuit
against Fairchild that began in 2004 are also undergoing Patent
Office reexamination proceedings. The Patent Office recently issued
rejections against all asserted claims of two of the three Power
Integrations patents being re-examined; results for the third
patent remain pending. Late last week, Power Integrations filed a
new complaint against Fairchild Semiconductor and System General in
the Delaware court, asserting two of the same patents whose
previously asserted claims have been rejected by the Patent Office,
as well as a third patent, alleging unspecified damages as a result
of alleged infringement by unspecified Fairchild and System General
pulse-width modulation integrated circuit products, and demanding a
permanent injunction and other relief. Special Note on
Forward-Looking Statements: Some of the paragraphs above contain
forward-looking statements that are based on management�s
assumptions and expectations and that involve risk and uncertainty.
All statements in this release, other than statements or
characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements usually, but do not always,
contain forward-looking terminology such as �we believe,� �we
expect,� or �we anticipate,� or refer to management�s expectations
about Fairchild�s future performance. Many factors could cause
actual results to differ materially from those expressed in
forward-looking statements. Important factors that may cause such a
difference for Fairchild Semiconductor in connection with the
company�s continuing litigation with Power Integrations include,
but are not limited to, the outcome of reexamination proceedings
before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office affecting the Power
Integrations patents asserted in the dismissed and pending
lawsuits, the company�s ability to prevail in the enforceability
phase of the litigation, the company�s ability to prevail in
post-trial motions and possibly on appeal, and the risks associated
with litigation in general, including the costs and time that must
be devoted to litigation, the potential diversion of attention of
management and key employees that may result from being engaged in
litigation, and the possibility of adverse results. Risk factors
affecting the company generally, including those related to
intellectual property and litigation, are discussed in the
company�s quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) and available at the Investor
Relations section of Fairchild Semiconductor�s web site at
investor.fairchildsemi.com, or the SEC�s web site at www.sec.gov.
About Fairchild Semiconductor: Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS)
is a global leader delivering energy-efficient power analog and
power discrete solutions. Fairchild is The Power Franchise�,
providing leading-edge silicon and packaging technologies,
manufacturing strength and system expertise for consumer,
communications, industrial, portable, computing and automotive
systems. An application-driven, solution-based semiconductor
supplier, Fairchild provides online design tools and design centers
worldwide as part of its comprehensive Global Power ResourceSM.
Please contact us on the web at www.fairchildsemi.com.
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