SAN JOSE –  The Arbitration Panel from the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce has issued an interim order, finding for Tessera Inc. in its licensing dispute with Amkor Technology.

According to Tessera, the panel unanimously ruled in its favor, finding Tessera's patents to be valid and certain Amkor chip packages in violation of those patents. Tessera will be awarded damages of an as-yet undisclosed amount.

Amkor said in a press release it believes the final damages will be "well below" the $85 million to $115 million originally claimed by Tessera.

This may be because the panel also found that most of the disputed packages are not subject to the patent royalty provisions of the license. Damages for past royalties for infringing packages from March 2002 through March 2008 will be determined by the panel, while damages experts for each of the parties were ordered to calculate the amount of past royalties due to Tessera. A joint report from the two parties is due Nov. 17, whereupon the panel will set the final amount.

Amkor said it is moving on and the finding will not impact its finances. “While we denied having any liability in the case, we can now move forward without the uncertainty that accompanied these claims,” said James Kim, chief executive of Amkor. “Our cash position remains solid and the ruling is not expected to have a material impact on our liquidity or ongoing business.”

However, in a separate statement, Tessera's president and CEO Henry Nothhaft said, "We expect that the monetary award will be material." Both parties could be correct: Amkor is considerably larger than Tessera.

Separately, Amkor said it has won a Supreme Court of Delaware appeal in which the high court affirmed the trial court’s ruling in favor of Amkor in its litigation with Motorola over a licensing with Citizen and certain patents relating to plastic ball grid array packages. The Supreme Court affirmed that the assignment was effective and that Amkor successfully acquired Citizen’s rights in the license and patents.

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