ITC Issues Final Determination in FormFactor’s Wafer Probe Card ITC Action
November 13, 2009
November 13, 2009
LIVERMORE, Calif. – November 13, 2009 – FormFactor, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORM) announced today The International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a final determination in the investigation of probe card manufacturers Phicom Corporation and Micronics Japan Company, Ltd., Investigation No. 337-TA-621. In the Final Determination, certain of FormFactor’s asserted patent claims were found valid, but not infringed, and other asserted patent claims were found invalid. The ITC has terminated the investigation without issuing an exclusionary order against any products. The ITC released only a three-page notice and indicated that the full Final Determination would be issued later.
The Company will carefully evaluate the Final Determination when it becomes available and assess further proceedings, including any potential appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the pending district court patent infringement litigations against Phicom and Micronics, which were stayed after initiation of the ITC investigation and include other FormFactor patents not at issue before the ITC. The company remains committed to protecting its intellectual property rights, and preventing the unauthorized use of its intellectual property.
FormFactor’s advanced wafer probe card products and solutions are relied upon by its customers to increase their testing efficiency and enable their technology roadmaps. The Company believes the Final Determination will have no immediate business impact.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding our products and solutions, demand for our products and future growth. These forward-looking statements are based on current information and expectations that are inherently subject to change and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results might differ materially from those in any forward-looking statement due to various factors, including, but not limited to: the company’s ability to defend its intellectual property rights in the United States and elsewhere in the world; losses or adverse rulings relating to the company’s intellectual property or intellectual property litigations, including any invalidation or limitation of the company’s patents; changes in patent laws, regulation or enforcement, or other factors that might affect the company’s ability to protect its intellectual property; and the company’s ability to develop, manufacture and deliver customized technologies and products that meet its customers’ ever- evolving test requirements, lower their overall cost of test and enable their technology roadmaps. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statement is contained in the company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 27, 2008 and Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 26, 2009 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and subsequent SEC filings. Copies of the company’s SEC filings are available at http://investors.formfactor.com/edgar.cfm. The company assumes no obligation to update the information in this press release, to revise any forward-looking statements or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements.