Formfactor Sues Phicom Corporation
March 7, 2005
March 7, 2005
For Patent Infringement In Us
LIVERMORE, CA — March 7, 2005 — FormFactor, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORM), an industry leader in the design, development and manufacture of semiconductor wafer probe cards, today announced the filing of a patent infringement lawsuit against Phicom Corporation, a Korean corporation. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Oregon, charges Phicom is willfully infringing four US patents that cover key aspects of FormFactor’s wafer probe cards.
Igor Khandros, FormFactor CEO, stated, “FormFactor has invested many millions of dollars in research and development to drive innovation in semiconductor manufacturing. Our resulting intellectual property is a cornerstone of our business and integral to our position as a mission critical enabler of wafer test.” Joe Bronson, FormFactor president, added: “Like all innovative companies in the semiconductor industry, we have an obligation to our shareholders to protect our R&D investment and take action against those we believe infringe our IP rights. IP protection provides a critical incentive for continued development and delivery of the breakthrough innovations that drive long term growth in the semiconductor industry.”
The filing of the US complaint follows actions initiated by FormFactor in 2004 against Phicom in the Seoul Southern District Court in Korea, and is part of the Company’s global IP strategy. The US complaint seeks both injunctive relief and money damages. In both the US and Korea actions FormFactor alleges that Phicom has incorporated FormFactor’s proprietary technology into Phicom products. The US patents identified in the Complaint are US Patent No. 5,974,662 for “Method of Planarizing Tips Of Probe Elements Of A Probe Card Assembly”, US Patent No. 6,246,247 for “Probe Card Assembly And Kit, And Methods Of Using Same”, US Patent No. 6,624,648 for “Probe Card Assembly”, and US Patent No. 5,994,152 for “Fabricating Interconnects And Tips Using Sacrificial Substrates.”