Samsung in violation

Press, 25 September 1987, Page 12

Samsung in violation

NZPA-Reuter Seoul South Korea’s largest computer producer says it has been ruled in violation of American patent law. Officials of the Samsung Semiconductor and Telecommunication Company said the United States International Trade Commission recommended banning semiconductor products made by Samsung, ruling that the company violated the patent rights of the American company Texas Instruments. The officials said they would seek to have the ruling countered in royalty talks with Texas Instruments. The officials said the semiconductors in dispute were 64K DRAM (Dynamic random access memory) chips, 128 K DRAM and 256 K DRAM chips. A Trade Ministry official said that, unless Samsung succeed in having the decision

changed in royalty talks, it would no longer be able to export Its semiconductors and other electronic goods such as computers and facsimile machines which use the chips. According to the Ministry officials, Texas Instruments expressed Its readiness to launch royalty negotiations with Samsung. They said 13 Japanese companies had already cleared their patent disputes by royalty payments to the American company. Samsung’s semiconductor exports to the United States amounted to SUS6O million in 1986 and the amount was expected to double this year, company officials said. Hyundai Electronics Industry Company, another major semiconductor producer, was facing investigation by ITC about patent, infringement cases, the Trade Ministry officials said.