Tessera Technologies Inc. announced that the International Trade Commission (ITC) will review the Initial Determination by the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in the Investigation No. 337-TA-605 brought by Tessera against certain wireless chip and handset manufacturers (Wireless ITC action).
According to a press release by Tessera, the Commission’s Final Determination is scheduled to be issued by April 3, 2009, and may accept or reject the Initial Determination in part or as a whole.
“We are encouraged that the Commission has decided to grant our petition to review the Initial Determination,” Tessera President and CEO Henry R. “Hank” Nothhaft said.
“We continue to believe the Initial Determination mistakenly rejected the methodology used at trial for determining patent infringement, the same basic methodology that was upheld in several other previous infringement cases brought by Tessera, including one before the full ITC,” he added.
“We hope that the ITC will follow its own precedent and overturn the Initial Determination. Such consistency by the ITC, among other judicial authorities, is essential to protecting US domestic businesses like Tessera that develop new technologies and drive economic growth through innovation,” Nothhaft stated.
“The Commission also granted aspects of the respondents’ petition and will review in part the ALJ’s findings regarding validity in the Initial Determination. We strongly believe in the merits of our case proving the validity of the two patents asserted in this action and await the Commission’s decision,” he concluded.
The Wireless ITC action originated in April 2007 when Tessera took legal action against ATI Technologies, Freescale Semiconductor Inc., Motorola Inc., Qualcomm Inc., Spansion Inc., Spansion LLC and ST Microelectronics N.V. alleging patent infringement.
In the Initial Determination on December 1, 2008, the ALJ agreed with Tessera on most of the material disputes between the parties and accepted Tessera’s arguments on standing, claim construction, and priority date. The ALJ rejected each of the invalidity arguments raised by the respondents and ruled that Tessera’s patents remain valid.
The ALJ disagreed, however, that the methodology used by one of Tessera’s expert witnesses was sufficient to prove infringement.
In notable contrast to this aspect of the ruling, the full ITC upheld the same witness’s methodology as a basis for finding infringement in Investigation No. 337-TA-432 (Sharp ITC action, 2002).
Additionally, the same witness’s methodology and testimony were accepted by the three-judge tribunal in Tessera’s recent arbitration against Amkor Technology Inc.
Tessera develops and delivers technologies for wireless, consumer and computing products.
SOURCE:AGIPNEWS
