ASE Invalidates Bell Semiconductor Patent at Federal Circuit

The Federal Circuit affirmed a tribunal’s decision nixing a chip-making patent that a non-practicing entity owned by the Chicago financial services company Hilco Global asserted against a trio of semiconductor companies.

Bell Semiconductor LLC—a patent monetization firm that has built out a portfolio of chip technology with purchases from Broadcom Inc. and STMicroelectronics NV—acquired US Patent No. 6,624,007 from the Japanese chip-maker Rohm Co. Ltd. in March 2020. It went on to sue NXP Semiconductors NV; Microchip Technology Inc.; Integrated Device Technology Inc.; and Renesas Electroncis Corp. for alleged infringement of the patent.

In response, a ...