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Fairchild Semiconductor found to willfully infringe two of Power Integrations’ patents, implicating more than 140 Fairchild products; jury awards damages of $105 million

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Power Integrations (Nasdaq: POWI) today announced a verdict in one of its ongoing patent infringement lawsuits against Fairchild Semiconductor. After a month-long trial in federal district court in San Francisco, a jury found yesterday that Fairchild willfully infringed two of Power Integrations’ patents, and awarded Power Integrations damages of $105 million. Based on the finding of willfulness, the Court could enhance the award up to three times the amount specified by the jury. The jury also denied all counterclaims by Fairchild alleging infringement by Power Integrations.

Based on the jury’s findings, Power Integrations intends to seek a permanent injunction against the more than 140 infringing parts implicated in the decision (and any additional parts with substantially identical infringing circuitry). The infringing features include what Fairchild terms its “Green Mode” technology; a list of part numbers determined to be infringing is shown below.

Today’s decision follows three previous findings of infringement against Fairchild and its System General (SG) subsidiary in cases brought by Power Integrations. In 2006, Fairchild was found in another federal court to infringe four of Power Integrations’ patents, resulting in a permanent injunction against more than 100 infringing Fairchild products (listed below). The court later found the infringement to be willful, describing Fairchild’s behavior as “blatant copying”. Also in 2006, the International Trade Commission found that SG infringed two of Power Integrations’ patents (including one of the same patents involved in the latest verdict) and later issued an exclusion order barring the infringing products from the U.S. market.

In 2012, Fairchild was again found to violate two of the same patents found to be infringed in the 2006 district-court decision. Power Integrations is presently seeking an injunction against approximately 80 Fairchild products implicated in that ruling (and any additional parts with substantially identical infringing circuitry), as listed below.

Commented Balu Balakrishnan , president and CEO of Power Integrations: “Today’s decision marks the fourth time Fairchild and its SG subsidiary have been found to infringe our patents. We hope this latest finding and the accompanying damage award will cause Fairchild to finally re-examine their business practices and begin respecting the intellectual property that we have worked so hard to develop over the past 25 years.”

The list of infringing Fairchild products implicated in yesterday’s decision is as follows:

The list of Fairchild products implicated in the 2012 verdict, against which Power Integrations is currently seeking a permanent injunction, is as follows:

The following Fairchild products are already under permanent injunction based on earlier litigation:

The list of Fairchild/SG products subject to ITC exclusion order is as follows:

About Power Integrations

Power Integrations, Inc., is a Silicon Valley-based supplier of high-performance electronic components used in high-voltage power-conversion systems. The company’s integrated circuits and diodes enable compact, energy-efficient AC-DC power supplies for a vast range of electronic products including mobile devices, TVs, PCs, appliances, smart utility meters and LED lights. CONCEPT IGBT drivers enhance the efficiency, reliability and cost of high-power applications such as industrial motor drives, solar and wind energy systems, electric vehicles and high-voltage DC transmission. Since its introduction in 1998, Power Integrations’ EcoSmart^® energy-efficiency technology has prevented billions of dollars’ worth of energy waste and millions of tons of carbon emissions. Reflecting the environmental benefits of the company’s products, Power Integrations’ stock is included in the NASDAQ^® Clean Edge^® Green Energy Index, The Cleantech Index^®, and the Ardour Global Index^SM. For more information, including design-support tools and resources, please visit www.powerint.com; visit Power Integrations’ Green Room for a comprehensive guide to energy-efficiency standards around the world.

Power Integrations, EcoSmart, and the Power Integrations logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Power Integrations, Inc.

Source: Power Integrations