HARRISBURG, PA — Connector company FCI has achieved a substantial victory in its patent infringement suit involving FCI's ball-grid-array (BGA) connector technology brought in the U.S. against Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industries.
On February 13, 2004, after a two-week trial in San Francisco, an American jury returned a verdict finding Hon Hai liable for infringement of two FCI patents relating to its BGA connector technology. FCI was the first company to patent BGA technology applied to connectors, according to Richard Page, vice president of FCI's US technology company with the first US patent issued in 2000. The lawsuit was filed in March 2001.
The jury also found the infringement to be "willful" and that Hon Hai is liable for multi-million-dollar damages as a result of its infringement. A further hearing is expected as early as March 2004 to determine the amount of the liability, said Page.
The infringing sockets are used in computer notebooks, desktops, and servers that use BGA socket technology. According to Page, the Hon-Hai sockets were discovered in use several years ago and samples were determined to use FCI's patented technology.
Commenting on the verdict, FCI chairman and CEO, Jean Lucien Lamy, said, "I never doubted the strength of our case and I am very pleased with the outcome. We will continue, in this instance and in any other cases that should arise, to pursue all legal means to protect our intellectual property." The BGA-patented technology from FCI is currently licensed worldwide to Tyco and Molex for socket applications.
