ams AG announces that U.S. District Judge Richard A. Schell has entered an order on April 26, 2016, awarding one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, ams-TAOS USA Inc. f/k/a Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions, Inc., US$77,021,593 in damages from United States-based Intersil Corp., including US$10,000,000 in exemplary damages.
The decision comes after a 2015 four-week trial in which jurors in the federal Eastern District of Texas found in favor of ams-TAOS on all claims against Intersil: misappropriation of ams-TAOS’ trade secrets, including a dual-diode ambient light sensor technology, breach of a non-disclosure agreement between the parties, tortious interference with ams-TAOS’ prospective business relations, and willful infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,596,981.
The disputed technology allows flat panel video displays to adjust brightness based on surrounding ambient light levels. The final judgement which will be entered on a later date can, however, be appealed. ams AG is therefore not able to estimate a time frame for conclusion of the case or recovery of damages awarded.
ams AG’ General Counsel Jann H. Siefken stated, “we are pleased with the court’s decision to enforce our company’s intellectual property rights against a competitor who would seek to misappropriate them for an unfair competitive advantage.â€
When asked via an email, a representative for Intersil stated that the company does not comment about on-going litigation.
