Thursday, March 20, 2003
ProMos Technologies Inc. said that it has terminated a license agreement with Infineon Technologies AG, but also claimed the right to continue using 0.11-micron technology transferred from the German chipmaker.
ProMos, which has been feuding with Infineon for months, said it sent Infineon a letter in January asking for a resolution of their disputed licensing agreement within 60 days. After no response was received from Infineon within that time, ProMos said it sent a letter of termination yesterday.
Late last year, Munich-based Infineon cut ties with ProMos, a joint venture with Mosel Vitelic Inc. of Taiwan. Infineon has terminated its DRAM procurement contracts, begun divesting itself of ProMos stocks, and ended its agreement to license the 0.11 micron process technology.
Hsinchu-based ProMos said its move today was intended to protect the company legally. "The key message we're trying to get across is that we have the right to use the technologies indefinitely, since Infineon didn't give us a timely response as required by the law," ProMos board member Albert Lin told reporters in Taipei. "Retention of the rights would benefit our customers substantially."
Even after months of bitter disputes between the two companies, Lin still held out hope that the two sides could find a way to settle their differences.
"Our chairman met their CEO last month. Since then, both sides have tried to work out the problems through negotiations."
One of the major points of contention, according to ProMos, is that Infineon has asked ProMos to reserve 90% of its capacity for Infineon, a huge leap from the 48% reserved for Infineon previously. ProMos and its parent company Mosel said they have rejected such a request.
ProMos said it started a pilot run in June using the technology it licensed from the German chipmaker. The yield rate has been satisfactory, Lin said.
Although Infineon has set a deadline to work out a new deal by the end of this month, Lin said that his company isn't sure if any agreements can be reached by then.
Representatives of Infineon could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, ProMos is extending its talks with Japan's Elpida Memory Inc. about possible technology transfer and capacity sharing. No timetable for reaching an agreement has been set, the board member said.
By: DocMemory
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