15 February 2012

Peregrine files patent infringement complaint and lawsuit against RFMD and Motorola

Peregrine Semiconductor Corp of San Diego, CA, USA, a fabless provider of radio-frequency (RF) integrated circuits (ICs) based on silicon-on-sapphire (SOS), has filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) and a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Central District of California alleging the infringement of certain patents relating to RFICs and switching technology by RF Micro Devices Inc and Motorola Mobility Inc.

The complaint claims that certain RFMD products and certain Motorola Mobility smartphones infringe Peregrine patents relating to silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology for RFICs. It seeks, among other remedies, an exclusion order preventing the importation and sale of infringing products in the USA. The lawsuit alleges the same infringement and seeks, in addition to damages, to permanently enjoin RFMD and Motorola Mobility from further infringement.

“Peregrine has emerged as a leading supplier of high-performance RF CMOS devices that are used extensively in the latest generation of mobile devices,” says president & CEO Jim Cable. Products are based on Peregrine’s proprietary UltraCMOS process and design technologies and are the result of more than 20 years of R&D activity and the investment of about $200m, it is claimed.

Peregrine says that it has been awarded numerous US and foreign patents based on its work in developing and manufacturing products for the RF front-end, which can be produced using standard CMOS-based semiconductor manufacturing processes. The patented developments allow RF solutions to be produced with a combination of high levels of monolithic integration and performance, small size and low power consumption, the firm claims. “We intend to vigorously protect our intellectual property and our resultant advancements in the field,” Cable says.

Tags: Peregrine Semiconductor RFMD Motorola SOI

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