Samsung, Panasonic Settle Chip Patent Disputes
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
Samsung Electronics said Thursday that it has agreed with Panasonic ― formerly Matsushita ― a Japanese chipmaker, to settle all patent infringement lawsuits in the U.S. and Japan.
``Both sides agreed to eliminate all pending issues related with chip patents,’’ a Samsung spokesperson said.
Under the bilateral agreement, Samsung Electronics and Panasonic has entered into a patent cross-license agreement in the field of semiconductors over the next 10 years.
The Samsung official, however, declined to give financial details on the case.
Samsung and Panasonic have filed suits against each other since 2002 in the U.S. and Japan, claiming infringement of semiconductor technology.
While South Korean chipmakers have been maintaining a powerful leadership in the global memory-implemented chip markets, Samsung Electronics, Hynix Semiconductor and Japanese chipmakers have been involved in patent disputes to secure advanced semiconductor technology.
In May last year, Samsung Electronics lodged a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission against Renesas Technology, contending that the Japanese chipmaker infringed on its patents for high-speed dynamic random access memory chips.