Samsung aims patent suit at Renesas, unit

SEOUL (AP) Samsung Electronics Co. has filed a lawsuit in the United States alleging patent infringement by Japanese semiconductor rival Renesas Technology Corp. and its U.S. unit, the companies said.

Samsung filed the suit alleging patent infringement of memory-chip production technology, and Renesas is looking into details, a Renesas official in Tokyo said Tuesday.

Renesas is "prepared to argue its case in court," the official said on condition of anonymity, citing company policy.

In Seoul, Samsung spokeswoman Lee Eun Hee confirmed the suit had been filed, but refused to provide details.

"Samsung does not comment on an ongoing lawsuit," she said.

According to a complaint Samsung filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware on May 4, the company is seeking a permanent injunction restraining Renesas and its subsidiaries from making, selling and importing into the U.S. any product that Samsung claims violates two of its patents.

Samsung, the world's largest maker of computer memory chips, is seeking an unspecified sum in damages, court documents show.

Renesas, set up jointly by Japanese electronics makers Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. in 2003, is one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world.

Samsung said in the complaint it was filing the lawsuit in Delaware because Renesas Technology America Inc. is incorporated in the state.

Renesas filed two separate cases against Samsung in the same court in January, documents show. Renesas alleged that Samsung violated its patents related to dynamic random access, or DRAM, memory technology, causing the company to "suffer irreparable harm." Both cases are pending.

DRAM chips are widely used in personal computers.