(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Japan's Toshiba has settled an intellectual property dispute over memory chips with US semiconductor maker Micron Technology, the two companies announced.
Toshiba had been embroiled in a prolonged legal battle over trade secrets for flash memory chips with Lexar Media, which was acquired by Micron earlier this year.
Lexar demanded that Toshiba halt the import of flash memory chips, an electronic component used in digital gadgets, which the American company claimed infringed on its intellectual
property rights.
Toshiba will purchase some of Micron's semiconductor technology patents and also license patents previously owned by Lexar for $288 million, according to a joint statement.
'We appreciate that Micron "&brkbar; allowed the parties to work together to bring all outstanding litigation and claims to a full and final resolution,' the statement quoted Masashi Muromachi, a Toshiba EVP and president of Toshiba's in-house Semiconductor Company, as saying.
'We "&brkbar; have the highest respect for Toshiba as an innovator in flash technology and see no merit in continuing to pursue this litigation,' Micron chairman Steve Appleton said in the statement.
The settlement comes after Lexar filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission earlier this year seeking an exclusionary order to prohibit Toshiba from importing the disputed products into the US.
In March, a US district court jury found that Toshiba had misappropriated patents from Lexar, prompting Toshiba to appeal the case.
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