MOSAID Technologies has settled its ongoing patent litigation with Samsung in the District Court of New Jersey, and Samsung has licensed the MOSAID patent portfolio.
In September 2001, MOSAID sued Samsung for infringement of seven MOSAID patents. Today MOSAID announced that it has signed an agreement with Samsung, which settles this litigation and grants Samsung a license to the MOSAID patent portfolio. Under the terms of settlement, Samsung will receive a five year license to the entire MOSAID patent portfolio. Samsung will also receive a license to four MOSAID patent families filed prior to 2000 for the lives of the patents. Payments for the license will be spread over the five year term of the license. Under the terms of the agreement financial details are to be kept confidential.
“This is a major step forward for our patent licensing program,” stated Jim Skippen, Senior Vice President, Patent Licensing and General Counsel of MOSAID. “Now that Samsung, the world’s largest DRAM supplier, has settled with MOSAID, we believe it is more likely that the remaining unlicensed DRAM companies will follow suit. This license clearly confirms the strength of our patent portfolio, which contains over 530 issued and pending patents. And finally, the five year term associated with most of the patents being licensed to Samsung under this agreement is consistent with our strategy of making our patent licensing program renewable and ongoing.”
“The signing of this license with Samsung is our most significant licensing achievement to date,” said George Cwynar, MOSAID President and CEO. “This represents a watershed event for MOSAID, confirming the potential we envisaged when we launched our patent licensing program as a key strategic initiative six years ago. It also validates our use of litigation when necessary to obtain fair licensing terms. We prefer to settle licenses in the boardroom, but we will pursue our rights in court if necessary. This agreement with Samsung better positions us to assert our patents and provides ongoing financial strength and flexibility to maximize shareholder return.”
Samsung joins many other major DRAM and semiconductor manufacturers who have already licensed MOSAID’s patent portfolio, including Fujitsu, NEC, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, Oki Electric, Matsushita, Winbond Electronics, Sony Corporation and Royal Philips Electronics.
Settlement of MOSAID’s litigation with Samsung does not affect MOSAID’s ongoing patent litigation with Infineon Technologies.
Murdok | Breaking eBusiness News
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