SAN FRANCISCO— Non-volatile memory IP vendor Sidense Corp. claimed legal victory over rival Kilopass Technology Inc. Thursday (Aug. 17) after a U.S. federal court ruled that Kilopass could not present its claims of patent infringement by Sidense in front of a jury. Kilopass said it plans to appeal the ruling.
The U.S. District Court for Northern California issued a summary judgment finding that
Sidense (Ottawa, Canada) does not infringement three patents held by Kilopass. According to Sidense, in granting its request for a summary ruling, the court determined that "no reasonable jury could find that Sidense infringed any claim of Kilopass' asserted patents."
Kilopass (Santa Clara, Calif.) and Sidense have engaged in legal wrangling since May 2010, when Kilopass
filed the patent infringement lawsuit against Sidense, alleging infringement of Kilopass' one-transistor antifuse technology. Sidense last year
sued Kilopass and its CEO, Charlie Cheng, alleging defamation and unfair competition.
Sidense said the court gave three reasons that Sidense's technology does not infringe any of Kilopass' asserted patents.
"We are extremely pleased with the judge's ruling, which validates our long-standing belief that the Kilopass patent claims against Sidense are without merit," said Xerxes Wania, Sidense president and CEO. "We've spent a considerable amount of time and money to prove that we're right in this litigation. We refused to be held hostage by this frivolous lawsuit, and now we've been vindicated."
Kilopass said its decision to appeal the ruling rests in its conviction that Sidense’s products are infringing on Kilopass’ patents. The company said the summary judgment order relies on issues that are under dispute and should be decided by a jury.
"We believe the judge ruled in error and prematurely, and we intend to take the issues to the appellate court and other venues to seek the correct ruling," Cheng said through a statement.
Sidense said the court found that Sidense and Kilopass products contain differences related to doped semiconductor regions. The court also found that Kilopass had taken contradictory positions before the court and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Sidense said. The company said the court's finding three reasons that Sidense does not infringe bodes well for Sidense if Kilopass appeals.
Kilopass said the preliminary proceedings at the USPTO are still ongoing.
"We are confident that when the appellate court panel of judges reviews the case, they will agree that there is a dispute between Kilopass and Sidense," said Lee Cleveland, Kilopass vice president of R&D.
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