Korean Patent Court Issues Ruling Re-Opening Case on FormFactor Patent
February 9, 2006
February 9, 2006
Patent Court also leaves in place validity decision of Korean Intellectual Property Office on majority of claims of second FormFactor patent, while holding certain other claims invalid
LIVERMORE, Calif. – February 9, 2006 – FormFactor, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORM) announced the Korean Patent Court issued an oral ruling declining to render a decision on the Company’s Korean Patent No. 252,457, and re-opening the case for further proceedings. The timing of any decision on the case, which will be handled by a new panel of judges, was not set.
The Patent Court also issued a ruling on FormFactor’s Korean Patent No. 324,064. The ruling did not address the validity decision of the Korean Intellectual Property Office as it related to 61 claims of Patent No. 324,064, including several claims that FormFactor recently added to its infringement lawsuit against Phicom Corporation. The Patent Court ruling invalidated 10 claims of Patent No. 324,064. Following normal practice, the bases for the rulings were not given and written opinions explaining the rulings would typically be expected in one to three weeks.
“We will continue to protect our intellectual property rights against unauthorized use and will vigorously defend the validity of our Korean Patent No. 252,457 before the new Patent Court panel of judges,” said Stuart Merkadeau, FormFactor’s senior vice president, general counsel. “The Korean litigations are only one part of a comprehensive litigation in multiple jurisdictions involving multiple patents. Once we receive the Patent Court’s written decision on our Korean Patent No. 324,064, we will evaluate the substantive merits of an appeal.”
“Semiconductor manufacturers rely on FormFactor’s innovation and technology to deliver wafer test products that reduce their overall cost of test, increase yield, and meet their technical roadmaps,” added Joe Bronson, President of FormFactor. “We believe these latest Patent Court rulings will have no current business impact.”
In addition to FormFactor’s commitment to its intellectual property and proprietary technologies, the Company’s advanced manufacturing, which leads the industry in its capability-level and capacity, make FormFactor the mission critical supplier to the semiconductor industry worldwide, including Korea.