(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Hyundai Electronics, NEC Settle IC Patent Lawsuits
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January 27, 1999 (SEOUL) -- Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.
said Jan. 25 that it has obtained the right to use some of NEC's memory-chip
patents for free, as a means to settle a dispute between the two companies.
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"On the condition that Hyundai scraps its six counter suits against NEC,
which are under U.S. court review, NEC proposed free usage of mutually
owned patent rights covering memory semiconductors," a Hyundai spokesman
said.
By agreeing with NEC, Hyundai Electronics said it has virtually ended
a year-long dispute with the Tokyo-based company. Hyundai will be the
world's second-largest memory chip maker after the takeover of LG Semicon
Co.
"We will save as much as US$200 million in royalties a year," a Hyundai
official said. Hyundai confirmed that NEC holds more than 8,000 patents
in the United States.
The agreement, which is in favor of Hyundai, came after Hyundai won the
right to the patent in a key transistor-related technology for making
memory chips in a counter suit against NEC in late 1998.
(Maeil Business Newspaper, Korea)
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