Japanese NAND flash maker Kioxia Holdings faces paying $229 million (about 340 billion won) after a jury in the United States found it infringed memory chip technology patents.
According to NHK and other Japanese media on the 19th, a federal jury in Texas on the 16th (local time) found that some of Kioxia's flash memory products infringed patents held by U.S. satellite communications corporations Viasat.
The jury accepted Viasat's claims and found that Kioxia must pay $229 million in damages. The patent is said to relate to technology that reduces power consumption and extends product life during high-speed data processing in flash memory.
Viasat filed suit about five years ago, saying its patented technology was used without permission in Kioxia products. Kioxia is a leading Japanese NAND flash manufacturer that produces memory used in data centers and smartphones.
Kioxia says it cannot accept the jury's verdict. The company said it would review all possible legal options, including an appeal.
Kioxia shares plunged as news of the patent defeat coincided with weakness in global semiconductor stocks. On the 17th in Tokyo trading, Kioxia closed at 52,110 yen, down 16.1% from the previous session.