Achieved Partial Summary Judgment Win in Semiconductor Device Patent Infringement Case, Resulting in Settlement

Crystal IS, Inc. v. Nitride Semiconductors Co. (N.D.N.Y. 1:12-CV-0606) 

As lead defense counsel, Robins Kaplan LLP successfully settled patent infringement claims on behalf of Crystal IS, Inc., a developer of Ultraviolet LED semiconductors using innovative Aluminum Nitride substrate technology. Robins Kaplan relied on creative lawyering to repeatedly shift the landscape of this complex patent suit.

Nitride Semiconductors sued Digi-Key, a re-seller of UV LEDs, in 2021, accusing Crystal IS’s products of infringement in the District of Minnesota. Using the customer-suit exception, Robins Kaplan filed a declaratory judgment action in Crystal IS’s home court in the Northern District of New York.

After serving a draft Rule 11 motion explaining why Nitride’s infringement claims were baseless, Robins Kaplan then filed an early summary judgment motion attaching the draft Rule 11 motion as an exhibit. The Court agreed to hear the summary judgment motion before reaching claim construction. In a thorough summary judgment Order, the Court dismissed one asserted claim, identified multiple potentially “dispositive” construction issues for the other asserted claim, and ordered further briefing to resolve the remaining claim construction issues. Shortly after the Order was issued, Robins Kaplan settled the case on confidential terms.