Power Integrations Receives Permanent Injunction Against Infringing Fairchild Products
Power Integrations announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has granted its request for a permanent injunction against the infringement of its patents by Fairchild Semiconductor. More than 100 infringing Fairchild parts are listed in the Court’s order and subject to the injunction, which is to take effect immediately. The Court further ordered Fairchild to provide notice of the injunction to all customers, distributors and other third parties that have purchased the infringing products.
The Court confirmed Fairchild’s liability for damages and awarded Power Integrations $6.1 million representing lost profits resulting from the sale and importation of the infringing products into the United States. The Court also granted Power Integrations’ request for interest to be paid on the damages owed. Power Integrations’ motion for enhanced damages and attorneys’ fees has been deferred in light of the 2007 In re Seagate decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which changed the legal standard of willfulness.
A separate lawsuit filed by Power Integrations against Fairchild in May 2008 remains pending. The suit alleges infringement of three Power Integrations patents, including two of the patents found to be valid and infringed in the earlier case. The company is seeking additional damages as well as an injunction against the infringing products.
"We are gratified that the Court has granted our request for an injunction against Fairchild’s infringing products," said Balu Balakrishnan, President and CEO of Power Integrations. "Our goal in bringing this case was to stop Fairchild from competing against us by copying our technology, and we have achieved that goal with respect to the products covered by this injunction. Remarkably, however, Fairchild continues to offer products that infringe our patents, including two of the same patents they have already been found to infringe. We are therefore proceeding with further litigation in an effort to obtain an injunction against those products as well as additional damages."
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) recently confirmed the validity of one of the two claims of U.S. Patent No. 6,107,851 found to have been infringed by Fairchild; the majority of the damage award in the Delaware case was based on this patent. The PTO’s review of other claims of the three patents asserted in the case is ongoing.
Fairchild emphasized in its response that the Court had reduced a jury’s award of damages to Power Integrations from approximately $34 million to approximately $6 million. Fairchild also stated that the court ordered a new trial on whether Fairchild willfully infringed Power Integrations’ asserted patents.
Fairchild stated that it did not expect the permanent injunction to have a significant impact on its business because it had voluntarily stopped U.S. sales and importation of those products in 2007 and now offers replacement products worldwide.
Fairchild said it expects to appeal on several grounds at the appropriate time.
