News Article
Amkor & Carsem Still At War Over Packaging Patents
Amkor Technology, Inc. announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a favourable ruling in Amkor's appeal in its patent infringement case against Carsem (M) Sdn Bhd, Carsem Semiconductor Sdn Bhd, and Carsem Inc. before the U.S. International Trade Commission.
In the underlying ITC proceedings, the Administrative Law Judge had ruled that certain Carsem Dual and Quad Flat No-Lead (QFN) Packages infringe certain claims of one of Amkor's patents (U.S. Patent No. 6,433,277) relating to MicroLeadFrame (MLF) technology. However the ITC subsequently ruled that the infringed claims were invalid and terminated the proceedings.
The Federal Circuit Court has now reversed the ITC's determination of invalidity, and remanded the matter to the ITC for further proceedings consistent with its opinion. "This is a significant decision in protecting Amkor's technology and patent rights for MicroLeadFrame packaging solutions," said Ken Joyce, Amkor's president and chief executive officer.
"We believe this ruling sets the stage for the ITC to find a statutory violation of the Tariff Act and for the issuance of an exclusion order that would prohibit Carsem from importing its infringing Dual and Quad Flat No-Lead Packages into the United States. In addition, we believe this decision will support our efforts in the corresponding District Court action against Carsem in the Northern District of California where we are seeking an injunction and damages."
Amkor's U.S. District Court action in the Northern District of California has been stayed pending resolution of the ITC proceedings. In this action Amkor is seeking to enjoin Carsem from further infringement of patent claims of certain U.S. patents (including U.S. Patent No. 6,433,277), compensatory damages and treble damages due to wilful infringement plus interest, costs and attorney's fees. Amkor is a provider of semiconductor packaging and test services to semiconductor companies and electronics OEMs.
