Published: October 01, 2010
Tessera Moves to Protect Intellectual Property with Two New Legal Actions
SAN JOSE, Calif. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Tessera Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSRA) today announced two new legal
actions by its semiconductor packaging subsidiary, Tessera, Inc., and
provided a status update on certain ongoing legal actions.
Patent Infringement Suit against Sony Corporation and Renesas
Electronics Corporation
On Oct. 1, 2010, Tessera filed a complaint against Sony Corporation,
Sony Electronics, Inc., and Renesas Electronics Corporation (the merged
entity of NEC Electronics and Renesas Technology Corp.) in the United
States District Court for Delaware, alleging infringement of Tessera's
U.S. Patent No. 6,885,106. To avoid confusion, please note that this
patent is different than the U.S. Patent No. 5,663,106 asserted in the
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Investigation No. 337-TA-630
(DRAM ITC Action).
"We filed this suit to protect our intellectual property and our
licensees in good standing. Sony and Renesas Electronics' license
agreements have expired, yet they are continuing to sell products using
our technology. Thus, they are infringing on our patents," said Henry R.
Nothhaft, chairman and chief executive officer, Tessera. "Although
discussions are ongoing with Sony and Renesas Electronics to secure
their continued access to our semiconductor packaging technology through
a licensing relationship with us, these discussions have not
sufficiently advanced, thus necessitating this lawsuit."
Breach of Contract Suit against UTAC-Taiwan
On Sept. 30, 2010, Tessera filed a complaint in the United States
District Court for the Northern District of California against UTAC
(Taiwan) Corporation alleging breach of contract, breach of the covenant
of good faith and fair dealing, and seeking declaratory relief. To avoid
confusion, please note that UTAC (Taiwan) Corporation is not covered by
the license agreement between Tessera and United Test and Assembly
Center Ltd., which was announced on March 1, 2010.
Wireless ITC Action
The case is on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit under the name Spansion, Inc. et al. v.
International Trade Commission and Tessera, Inc., Case No.
2009-1460. On Sept. 24, 2010, the Limited Exclusion Order issued by the
ITC against ATI Technologies, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Qualcomm,
Inc., Spansion, Inc., Spansion, LLC and STMicroelectronics N.V. ended,
due to the expiration of the two patents on which the order was based.
These patents were U.S. Patent No. 5,852,326 and U.S. Patent No.
6,433,419.
Tessera's District Court cases against the respondents in the Wireless
ITC Action remain stayed pending resolution of all appeals.
DRAM ITC Action
The case is on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit under the name Tessera, Inc. v.
International Trade Commission, Case No. 2010-1176. Briefing on
appeal before the Federal Circuit has been completed, but oral argument
has not yet been scheduled.
Tessera brought the DRAM ITC Action against certain DRAM manufacturers
including, for example, Acer, Inc., Centon Electronics, Inc., Elpida
Memory, Inc., Kingston Technology Co., Inc., Nanya Technology
Corporation, Powerchip Semiconductor Corp., ProMOS Technologies Inc.,
Ramaxel Technology Ltd., Smart Modular Technologies, Inc., and TwinMOS
Technologies, Inc. Tessera asserted infringement of three Tessera
patents, U.S. Patent No. 5,663,106, U.S. Patent No. 5,679,977, and U.S.
Patent No. 6,133,627.
Tessera's District Court cases against the respondents in the DRAM ITC
Action remain stayed pending resolution of all appeals.
Hynix Antitrust Case
This case remains pending in the Superior Court of the State of
California. During the third quarter of 2010, there were four pretrial
motion hearings related to this matter. An additional pretrial case
management hearing will be held on Dec. 16, 2010. The Court has not yet
set a trial date.
Patent Reexaminations
The reexaminations of the 5,852,326; 5,679,977; 6,433,419; 6,465,893 and
6,133,627 patents are continuing after the patents' expiration on Sept.
24, 2010. There are claims for damages based on pre-expiration
infringement in the District Court actions related to these patents. In
addition, reexamination proceedings continue on other, unexpired Tessera
patents including U.S. Patent No. 5,663,106.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
significantly from those projected, particularly with respect to
Tessera's litigation and reexamination strategies, the procedural
schedules, the scope and meaning of Tessera's license agreements, and
the actions of government entities. Material factors that may cause
results to differ from the statements made include delays, setbacks or
losses relating to our intellectual property or intellectual property
litigations, or any invalidation or limitation of our key patents;
fluctuations in our operating results due to the timing of new license
agreements and royalties, or due to legal costs; changes in patent laws,
regulation or enforcement, or other factors that might affect our
ability to protect our intellectual property; the risk of a decline in
demand for semiconductor products; failure by the industry to adopt our
technologies; competing technologies; the future expiration of our
patents; the future expiration of our license agreements and the
cessation of related royalty income; the failure or refusal of licensees
to pay royalties; failure to achieve the growth prospects and synergies
expected from acquisition transactions; and delays and challenges
associated with integrating acquired companies with our existing
businesses. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
release. Tessera's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31,
2009, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June
30, 2010, include more information about factors that could affect the
company's financial results. Tessera assumes no obligation to update
information contained in this press release. Although this release may
remain available on Tessera's website or elsewhere, its continued
availability does not indicate that Tessera is reaffirming or confirming
any of the information contained herein.
About Tessera
Tessera Technologies, Inc. invests in, licenses and delivers innovative
miniaturization technologies for next-generation electronic devices. The
company's micro-electronics solutions enable smaller,
higher-functionality devices through chip-scale, 3D and wafer-level
packaging technology, as well as high-density substrate and silent air
cooling technology. Tessera's imaging and optics solutions provide
low-cost, high-quality camera functionality in electronic products and
include image sensor packaging, wafer-level optics and image enhancement
intellectual property. The company also offers customized micro-optic
lenses, from diffractive and refractive optical elements to integrated
micro-optical subassemblies. Tessera licenses its technologies, as well
as delivers products based on these technologies, to promote the
development of the supply chain infrastructure. The company is
headquartered in San Jose, California. For information call
1.408.321.6000 or go to www.tessera.com.
Tessera and the Tessera logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Tessera, Inc. or its affiliated companies in the United States and other
countries. All other company, brand and product names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
TSRA-L
Tessera Technologies, Inc.
Michael Anthofer, 408-321-6711
EVP
and CFO
Moriah Shilton, 408-321-6713
Investor Relations
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