Infineon and Lantiq Achieve Lawsuit Withdrawal and License Grant Without Monetary Consideration in Patent Litigation with CIF Licensing LLC
Joint news release by Lantiq and Infineon Technologies
Neubiberg, Germany – October 20, 2011 – Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) and Lantiq Deutschland GmbH have successfully defended themselves against patent infringement allegations asserted by CIF Licensing LLC (CIF). CIF, a member of the General Electric Group, had filed suit against Deutsche Telekom AG in October 2007. The allegations made in the suit were leveled against Infineon’s meanwhile sold Wireline business – today Lantiq. The settlement now concluded stipulates CIF’s withdrawal of its patent infringement suits. Infineon, Lantiq and other parties to the proceedings will receive a license without monetary consideration in respect of the four patents in suit and its foreign counterparts.
From October 2007, CIF instituted a number of proceedings first against Deutsche Telekom AG, later also against Infineon, Arcor AG & Co KG, United Internet AG, Hansenet Telekommunikation GmbH – today Telefonica Germany GmbH & Co. OHG – and several suppliers. The litigations essentially related to four patents allegedly used by the defendant companies in certain DSL products.
Led by Infineon and Lantiq, several defendant companies and suppliers formed a joint defense group. Infineon and other companies in the joint defense group filed nullity suits with the German Federal Patent Court in Munich against the four patents. Since the German Federal Patent Court held that two nullity suits were well founded, the parties have now reached a settlement. Under the terms of this settlement, certain parties to the proceedings are allowed to retroactively use the patents without monetary consideration.
About Lantiq
Lantiq offers a broad and innovative product portfolio for next-generation networks and the digital home. The company specializes in broadband communications encompassing analog, digital and mixed-signal ICs along with comprehensive software suites. Lantiq is a fabless company and its semiconductor solutions are deployed by major carriers and in home networks in every region of the world. Further information is available at: www.lantiq.com or on Twitter: @Lantiq.
About Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG, Neubiberg, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions addressing three central challenges to modern society: energy efficiency, mobility, and security. In the 2010 fiscal year (ending September 30), the company reported sales of Euro 3.295 billion with approximately 26,650¹ employees worldwide. With a global presence, Infineon operates through its subsidiaries in the U.S. from Milpitas, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore, and in Japan from Tokyo. Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the over-the-counter market OTCQX International Premier (ticker symbol: IFNNY). Further information is available at www.infineon.com.
¹ Mentioned number of employees contains about 3,075 employees of the wireless mobile phone business (Wireless Solutions), which was sold to Intel Corporation.
Information Number
INFXX201110.006