U.S. panel rules Seagate, Avago's LSI do not violate Realtek patent
By Diane Bartz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Avago Technologies Ltd's LSI and Seagate Technology do not violate patented technology owned by Realtek Semiconductor Corp, the U.S. International Trade Commission said on Monday.
Taiwan-based Realtek accused the companies of violating a patent to make an integrated circuit with high frequency and low noise.
The commission found that Seagate and LSI, which was purchased by Avago this year, used the same technology as in the patent. But it also found that Realtek does not have a U.S. business and thus could not enforce the patent using the ITC.
The ITC can rule that a patent has been violated if the accused company infringes the patent and if the patent owner uses the patent in the United States.
Realtek filed a complaint with the ITC in September 2012 accusing the two companies of infringing on two of its patents for making integrated circuits used in a wide array of electronics. One of the patents was dropped during the course of litigation.
None of the three companies could immediately be reached for comment.
Realtek and Avago's LSI make semiconductors while Seagate, based in California, specializes in disk drives and storage.
The ITC is a popular venue for patent lawsuits because it will ban products from the United States if they infringe on a patent.
The case at the International Trade Commission is No. 337-859.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Ros Krasny, Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
