U.S. Patent Office to Reexamine the Validity of the Remaining Power Integrations Patent Asserted Against Fairchild Semiconductor
April 01 2009 - 3:43PM
Business Wire
Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS) announced the latest in a
string of decisions in which the United States Patent and Trademark
Office questioned the validity of Power Integrations patents
asserted against Fairchild.
On March 20, 2009, the Patent Office granted Fairchild's request
for ex parte reexamination of U.S. Patent No. 7,110,270 and
concluded that the prior art presents a "substantial new question"
as to the validity of claims 6-9. Moreover, the Patent Office
determined that "the record is unclear regarding the reason those
claims were [originally] allowed." In May 2008 Power Integrations
accused Fairchild of infringing the same claims. Fairchild has
denied any infringement and asserted that the claims are
invalid.
The Patent Office recently issued a number of office actions
rejecting claims that Power Integrations has accused Fairchild of
infringing. On December 3, 2008, the Patent Office issued a final
office action rejecting claims of U.S. Patent No. 6,249,876 and the
following day issued a final office action rejecting claims of U.S.
Patent No. 6,107,851. In February, the Patent Office rejected Power
Integrations� attempt to amend those claims and noted that the
rejected claims will be cancelled unless a timely appeal is filed.
The Patent Office has also issued a second Office Action, rejecting
claims of U.S. Patent No. 6,229,366.
Fairchild has always believed that Power Integrations' claims
are invalid and is pleased that the Patent Office is critically
reviewing them. The company hopes that the Patent Office's actions
will end Power Integrations' allegations that Fairchild infringed
Power Integrations' patents.
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 patent litigation with Power
Integrations include, but are not limited to, the outcome of any
responses to, or appeals by, Power Integrations relating to current
or future reexamination proceedings before the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office affecting the Power Integrations patents asserted
in current or future lawsuits, the outcome of any appeals by Power
Integrations and/or Fairchild from rulings of trial and appeals
courts and Fairchild�s ability to prevail in those appeals, and the
risks associated with litigation in general, including the costs
and time that must be devoted to litigation, the uncertainty of
litigation generally, 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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