Infineon moans about Elpida

THE US International Trade Commission must be getting really bored with all the complaints it's getting from technology outfits claiming their rivals nicked their ideas.

Infineon today filed a complaint with the US ITC against Elpida. The complaint claims that Elpida engaged in unfair trade practices by importing DRAM semiconductors and products that infringe four of Infineon's patents.

The patents at issue deal with inventions in semiconductor processing and device manufacturing. Hermann Eul, member of the management board at Infineon said that Infineon has always been at the forefront of advanced semiconductor processing technologies and blustered, "We will protect our intellectual property rights, which arise from our commitment to cutting-edge research and development."

Infineon seeks an exclusion order from the ITC to bar US imports of allegedly infringing Elpida DRAM semiconductors.

Calling up the ITC seems to be par for the course in technology patent cases, perhaps because import bans make companies sit up and take notice quicker. The cases are usually sorted out by the companies involved long before the ITC comes up with any ruling. µ