Fined! $32.5 million for big semiconductor manufacturers

European chip makers have been STMicroelectronics for patent infringement on a transistor technology, according to a ruling by a jury in a West Texas Court on December 5, Reuters reported, $32.5 million in damages to the Purdue University.

The jury agreed with the Purdue University, the silicon carbide metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) used in STMicroelectronics car chargers and other products is believed to infringe Purdue University patents on transistors used in “High-voltage power applications”.

“The company will appeal the decision,” a spokesman for the STMicroelectronics said
Purdue's lawyer, Michael Shore, said the evidence against the STMicroelectronics was “Overwhelming” and that the company might have to pay more than $100m in royalties before the 2026 patent expires.
It is known that MOSFET is commonly used in electronic products to control and amplify current.
The dispute can be traced back to the 2021 when the Purdue University Board sued the STMicroelectronics, mOSFET, which is used in solar heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, car charging stations and other renewable energy products, infringes two patents related to transistor technology.
The Purdue University's patents cover semiconductor and MOSFET innovations for high-voltage power applications, and were filed for by former Purdue University Professor James Cooper and his then Student Asmita Saha, who received patent protection in 2006.
In recent years, with the increase of semiconductor enterprises, the weight of patents is also increasing day by day, and the awareness of patent protection is obviously strengthened. Today, a chip often consists of billions or even zero transistors, each of which can be patented. Global Semiconductor patent filings reached a record 69,190 in 2022, up 380 percent from 5,943 five years earlier and 9 percent from 62,770 in 2020/21, according to the data.
Today, patents are not only the sharp tool for manufacturers to compete in the market, but also the key to competition in the global technology industry. Who can first apply for a patent, who has more voice and initiative. In the current situation of self-controlled development of countries around the world, patents will be an invisible competition between the technology industry.

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