News: Microelectronics
8 April 2024
US Patent Office reviewing validity of two EPC patents asserted against Innoscience
Gallium nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) power solutions firm Innoscience (Zhuhai) Technology Co Ltd of Suzhou, China says that it welcomes two decisions of 20 March by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to institute a review of the validity of the two remaining US patents, as asserted by Efficient Power Conversion Corp (EPC) of El Segundo, CA, USA against Innoscience. The USPTO wrote that “there is a reasonable likelihood that petitioner [Innoscience] would prevail with respect to at least one of the claims challenged in the petition.”
In these recent rulings regarding EPC’s lawsuits against Innoscience, three judges from the USPTO have initially agreed with Innoscience that the EPC patents that it challenged at the USPTO are invalid. In at least one case, Innoscience argued to the USPTO that the challenged EPC patent was invalid, based on a prior patent of an EPC cofounder/inventor when he was at International Rectifier and, on a preliminary basis, according to the institution decision, the USPTO agreed with Innoscience. In both proceedings at the USPTO, Innoscience has described multiple reasons why the two EPC patents are invalid and, for virtually every argument on invalidity, the USPTO initially agreed. Next, the USPTO will receive additional briefing and make a final determination by 20 March 2025.
In May 2023, EPC initiated legal proceedings against Innoscience in the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington DC, alleging infringement of four EPC patents by certain Innoscience GaN devices. In response, Innoscience denied EPC’s allegations of infringement as well as the validity of the EPC patents. Innoscience initiated defenses on multiple fronts, including the filing of inter partes review (IPR) petitions in the USPTO, challenging the validity of all of the asserted patents. During the ITC investigation, EPC withdrew two of its four original patents. The ITC also held a hearing on these two remaining patents in February/March, and the ITC will issue initial determination by 3 June, with a final determination due by 3 October, which may be subject to extensions of time.
Innoscience says that it is confident that it will achieve an eventual full victory in the dispute with EPC. It adds that the USPTO decisions further demonstrate that EPC’s accusations against Innoscience lack merit, given that the USPTO has now determined, at least initially, that the last two EPC patents asserted by EPC are likely invalid.
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