Soitec acknowledges second USITC investigation and intends to vigorously defend against SiGen allegations.
Bernin (Grenoble), France, October 21, 2016 — Soitec, a world leader in designing and manufacturing semiconductor materials for the electronics industry, acknowledged today an announcement from the U.S. International Trade Commission (“USITC”) that it would institute a second investigation, as a result of a complaint filed by Silicon Genesis Corp. (“SiGen”) regarding the importation and sale in the United States of certain silicon-on-insulator (“SOI”) wafers by Soitec.
This complaint is SiGen’s second attempt to challenge Soitec’s importation and sale of SOI wafers in the United States on the ground of an alleged patent infringement. As the USITC made clear in its notice, by instituting this second investigation the agency “has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case.”
SiGen’s first attempt ended in May 2016 with SiGen voluntarily withdrawing its complaint shortly before trial, thereby abandoning its allegations that Soitec was infringing patents owned by SiGen. SiGen’s second complaint alleges again the infringement by Soitec of two other US patents owned by SiGen which were not asserted in its first complaint.
Soitec intends to vigorously defend against SiGen’s complaint, and is confident that this investigation will end with a finding of non-infringement. The asserted patents are not infringed by Soitec. It is of interest to know that SiGen does not manufacture SOI wafers, and cannot supply the U.S. market with these critical products.
Soitec respects the intellectual property rights of third parties and is confident the USITC will find Soitec in full compliance with U.S. law.
About Soitec:
Soitec (Euronext, Tech 40 Paris) is a world leader in designing and manufacturing innovative semiconductor materials. The company uses its unique technologies and semiconductor expertise to serve the electronics and energy markets. With 3,600 patents worldwide, Soitec’s strategy is based on disruptive innovation to answer its customers’ needs for high performance, energy efficiency and cost competitiveness. Soitec has manufacturing facilities, R&D centers and offices in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. For more information, please visit www.soitec.com and follow us on Twitter: @Soitec_EN