Chinese GaN power chipmaker Innoscience found to have infringed US rival’s patent

The US International Trade Commission rules that Innoscience infringed one of the patents of American firm Efficient Power Conversion Corp

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The facade of the US International Trade Commission’s headquarters in Washington. Photo: Handout

Published: 9:00am, 9 Nov 2024Updated: 9:04am, 9 Nov 2024

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled that Innoscience Technology, a Chinese maker of gallium-nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) power chips, infringed upon a patent of American rival Efficient Power Conversion Corp (EPC), clouding the Suzhou-based firm’s prospects of going public in Hong Kong.

Innoscience was found to have infringed on one of the challenged patents held by EPC, according to the ITC’s final determination released on Thursday. The agency issued a limited exclusion order prohibiting importation of certain Innoscience chips that violated EPC’s patent.

California-based EPC on Thursday said the ITC decision was “the first successfully litigated US patent dispute involving GaN-based wide bandgap semiconductors”. The firm said it expects to open its intellectual property in GaN technologies to potential partners through licensing agreements.

Innoscience, however, said it disagreed with ITC’s decision and will appeal the ruling.

The litigation “shall have no impact on Innoscience’s customers”, the company said in a statement on Friday. It asserted that the ITC’s decision clarified a design that was in dispute, adding that the firm has already worked around it and will soon release new products.

Innoscience’s gallium-nitride-on-silicon power chips are widely used in consumer electronics. Photo: Innoscience

Innoscience’s disputes have cast a shadow over the company’s efforts to list in Hong Kong, as well as its expansion plans. The company filed for an initial public offering in June.