DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (CY) said Monday it has filed a
motion to release telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson
(ERIC) from its patent-infringement complaint against GSI
Technology Inc. (GSIT).
Cypress, a chip maker, in June filed a complaint with the U.S.
International Trade Commission, alleging infringement of four
static random-access memory, or SRAM, patents by GSI, a maker of
memory for networking and telecommunications equipment. Cypress's
complaint has sought to stop other electronics makers from
importing the allegedly infringing GSI memory chips.
Cypress said it reached an agreement with Ericsson, making it
the fifth customer Cypress has released from the case so far. Other
recent agreements were reached with Arrow Electronics Inc. (ARW)
and Nu Horizons Electronics Corp.
GSI has previously denied any wrongdoing in the case and said it
would vigorously defend itself from the allegations. Late last
year, GSI said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office initially
rejected a number of Cypress's patent infringement claims tied to
the dispute.
While Cypress had been reporting improved profits in recent
quarters, the semiconductor sector has shown increasing weakness,
with many companies cutting their earnings projections and a
handful of disk-makers struggling with flooding in Thailand.
The company in January said its fourth-quarter earnings surged
compared with a year-earlier quarter challenged by a legal
settlement and higher tax costs.
Cypress shares closed Monday's regular session at $15.67, while
Ericsson's closed at $9.90 and GSI's closed at $4.38. None of the
stocks was active after hours following Cypress's announcement.
-By Ben Fox Rubin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3108;
ben.rubin@dowjones.com