Administrative Law Judge Paul Luckern, in a determination issued yesterday and made public today, rejected Toshiba's claims that Hynix was infringing three patents related to NAND flash memory chips used in consumer electronics. The judge's determination will be reviewed by the six-member ITC in Washington by February.

Tokyo-based Toshiba filed a complaint with the agency in September 2005, the same day it filed a lawsuit making similar allegations in a federal court in Texas. The case is the latest dispute between the companies over memory cards used in computers and consumer electronics. NAND flash memory chips store songs and pictures in digital cameras and MP3 players.

Luckern did uphold the validity of the three Toshiba patents. If the commission overrules Luckern and decides there was infringement, it could block certain Hynix chips from the U.S. market.

Toshiba, Japan's biggest chipmaker, first sued South Korea's Hynix in November 2004 after the companies failed to extend an almost six-year cross-licensing agreement that expired in December 2002. Samsung Electronics Co. is the world's largest maker of NAND chips.

Lawyers for Hynix and Toshiba didn't immediately return messages seeking comment.

By: DocMemory
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