Micron Says UMC Patent Ruling Will Have Minimal Impact to Revenue
Micron Technology Inc. has lost a patent case in China and was banned from selling, manufacturing or importing certain SSD and DRAM products in China. The company disagrees with the court and expects no significant revenue impact.
The case, surfaced earlier this week from Micron's rival United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC).
Micron today confirmed thant the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court, Fujian Province, China notified two Chinese subsidiaries of Micron that it has granted a preliminary injunction against those entities in patent infringement cases filed by UMC and Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. (Jinhua). The patent infringement claims of UMC and Jinhua were filed against Micron in retaliation for criminal indictments filed by Taiwan authorities against UMC and three of its employees and a civil lawsuit filed by Micron against UMC and Jinhua in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California for the misappropriation of Micron trade secrets.
The preliminary injunction enjoins Micron's Chinese subsidiaries from manufacturing, selling, or importing certain Crucial and Ballistix-branded DRAM modules and solid state drives in China. Micrron sas that the affected products make up slightly more than 1% of Micron's annualized revenues. Since the fourth fiscal quarter is underway, Micron anticipates that the negative impact to revenue this quarter relating to the injunction will be approximately 1%, and the company continues to expect revenue to be within the previously guided range of $8.0 to $8.4 billion. Micron said it would comply with the ruling and that it would request the Fuzhou Court to reconsider or stay its decision.
"Micron is disappointed with the ruling by the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court. We strongly believe that the patents are invalid and that Micron's products do not infringe the patents. The Fuzhou Court issued this preliminary ruling before allowing Micron an opportunity to present its defense," said Joel Poppen, senior vice president, legal affairs, general counsel and corporate secretary at Micron Technology. "This ruling and other actions by the Fuzhou Court are inconsistent with providing a fair hearing through appropriate legal processes and procedures. Micron has a long-standing history of successful business operations in China, including a significant assembly and test manufacturing facility in Xi'an, as well as deep relationships with many valued China customers. Micron will continue to aggressively defend against these unfounded patent infringement claims while continuing to work closely with its customers and partners."