ITC Investigates NAND Chipmakers

An investigation has been launched by U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), on several NAND flash memory chip making companies. A complaint filed in July by West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based BTG International prompted ITC to initiate this investigation against companies like Samsung (SSNLF), Apple Inc. (AAPL), Research In Motion (RIMM), Dell Inc. (DELL), Sony Corp. (SNE), PNY Technologies and Transcend Information.
 
The complaint filed by BTG states that chips used by Apple, Research In Motion, Samsung and others violate the patents that the company holds on the NAND flash memory chips. BTG has requested ITC to ban Samsung from using the patented chips and on products using the Samsung chips to be shipped to the U.S.
 
This apart, BTG asked ITC to issue a cease and desist order on any of the companies’ business relating to those devices. We believe this might have a negative impact on the product portfolio and production process of these companies, as non availability of the said chips might hamper product quality.
 
This investigation may particularly affect products like laptops, digital cameras, mobile phones, MP3 players, and other such devices based on NAND flash memory chips. The coming holiday season provides good business opportunity for companies dealing with the abovementioned products, but a negative ruling might spoil the game, and may negatively affect the bottom-line as well.

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