AUSTIN, TX – Freescale Semiconductor has filed multiple lawsuits against Panasonic, JVC and Funai Electric, alleging illegal use of its intellectual property.

In the suits, Freescale cites failures by the firms to renew license agreements, and seeks to bar their products from being imported into the US.

The suits were filed in US District Court in Austin and with the US International Trade Commission.

Products potentially impacted by the suits include TVs, memory cards, video cameras, digital cameras and media players, such as Blu-ray DVD players.

The trade commission lawsuit also names several retailers, including Best Buy, B&H Foto & Electronics, Wal-Mart, QVC and Buy.com.

 

MACAO – Deswell Industries reported fiscal third-quarter sales fell 42.4% from last year to $21.4 million.

The company reported a net loss of $400,000, down from net income of $1 million last year. Operating income dropped 67% to $300,000 for the period ended Dec. 31.

The company’s EMS-related sales plunged 49.7% to $8.2 million. Gross profit in the electronic and metallic segment increased to 8.5% of net sales for the third quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to 7.3% of net sales for the year-ago quarter. The improved gross margin in the electronic and metallic segment was mainly attributed to lower materials cost offsetting higher factory overheads.

Chief executive Mr. Franki Tse said, "We continued to see the impact of the difficult global economy and our sequential sales performance was essentially flat. There has been some strengthening in order volume recently and we believe that we are well positioned to benefit from a recovering global economy. That being said, we remain cautious and continue to evaluate ways to reduce expenses."

NORTH BILLERICA, MA -- Reflow soldering equipment OEM BTU International reported fourth-quarter net sales fell 17.7% from a year ago to $12.1 million.

Read more ...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s proposal to make the R&D tax credit permanent would be a landmark accomplishment, SEMI said this week.

Read more ...