InvenSense wins pause in ST patent fight

LONDON – Fabless inertial MEMS sensor company InvenSense Inc. (Sunnyvale Calif.) has said it has won a stay of action in a law suit brought against it by rival STMicroelectronics NV for alleged patent infringement. The case was brought by ST (Geneva, Switzerland) in May 2012.

InvenSense has challenged the validity of certain ST patents in proceedings with the United States Patent Office and the patent suit will now be stayed while the USPTO re-examines the patents in question. One possibility is that the patents will be declared invalid because of prior art that was not considered at the time the patents were granted.

The USPTO has already decided that there are doubts of patentability over seven of the nine patents asserted by ST, according to InvenSense.

InvenSense claims it was the first company to develop an integrated dual-axis MEMS gyroscope for consumer electronics applications in 2006 and that ST has been trying to catch up since it entered that market in 2008.

"The decision provides necessary time for the United States Patent Office to fully re-evaluate ST's patents. Based upon our work and actual USPTO rulings in this case to date, we expect ST's patents to be found invalid under the USPTO reexamination proceedings," said Alan Krock, CFO of InvenSense, in a statement.


Related links and articles:

www.invensense.com

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