A case related to the patent for insulators of semiconductor devices
A leading chemical material company, S company, was supplying polysilazane high-molecular materials, which are used as insulators in manufacturing semiconductor devices, to S Electronics, a top semiconductor company in South Korea. A leading Japanese company in the chemical materials field, A company, sent cease and desist letters to and filed an infringement trial against competing companies to monopolize the supply to S Electronics. Also, the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board had already determined on an inventive step of the patent at issue, as a result of the other company’s filing of an invalidation trial. The patent is the invention of the manufacturing process that features a variety of factors such as molecular weight of high molecules, shape of insulation material, and shift reaction process of insulation material in relation to the process of manufacturing insulation material. Representing S company, which participated in the invalidation litigation at the Patent Court of Korea stage, AIP elicited a ruling on invalidation of the patent by developing legal principles on numerical limitation invention, and a point of arguments that can negate the technical significance of the components in the process. Also, this was confirmed by the Supreme Court, and consequently, patent issues of all relevant companies in South Korea that were under patent attacks from A company, could be resolved at once.