Innoscience, China dragged into IP dispute in US

One of China’s pioneering gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology companies is being probed by the United States International Trade Commission (USITC), after an intellectual property complaint was filed by an American competitor.

USITC launched an investigation into Innoscience, which makes gallium nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) semiconductor devices, last week after Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) accused the Chinese firm of infringing four patents relating to GaN transistor design and manufacturing.

Gallium nitride is a promising alternative to traditional silicon-based semiconductor technology. EPC filed its complaint in May to USITC and a US District Court in California.

“The investigations and lawsuits filed by EPC are inconsistent with the facts, and the motives and purposes are impure,” China-based Innoscience said at the time of EPC’s filings in May, adding that it would take legal measures to defend itself.

“We think this move [by EPC] is an illegal [step] … to destroy Innoscience’s competitive advantage,” the company added.

Innoscience did not respond to a request for comment on Monday about USITC’s decision to launch an investigation into the matter.

Zhuhai-headquartered Innoscience was founded in 2015 by Luo Weiwei, who, according to Chinese media, previously worked as a scientist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa). In 2018, Innoscience won first prize in an entrepreneurial and innovation competition hosted by several Chinese ministry-level agencies.

The company produces transistors, a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electrical signals and power, and produces wafers, the raw material for making transistors and integrated circuits. Innoscience says it has the largest dedicated 8-inch GaN-on-Si wafers manufacturing capacity globally, able to producs 10,000 wafers per month.

According to company information as of last year, Innoscience has 1,400 employees across Asia, Europe and the US and offers the lowest GaN-on-Si device prices in the market, used in products such as chargers, smartphones, laptops, and data centres.

EPC is seeking damages, a cease-and-desist order and a ban on Innoscience’s sale of the GaN products in the US that are alleged to be in contravention of patent rules.

According to the court filings, California-based EPC was co-founded in 2007 by Alexander Lidow, the co-inventor of the HEXFET power MOSFET, a previously groundbreaking transistor. With Lidow’s help, EPC became the first company to make transistors based on GaN technology commercially available in 2009, the filings state.

Following the successful patenting of its products, EPC is alleging that Innoscience illegally obtained company secrets by recruiting one of its engineers in 2017 to serve as the company’s chief technology officer, as well as hiring a China-based EPC employee as its head of sales and marketing. Innoscience has denied these allegations, stating that a few job changes by employees does not amount to plagiarism.

Both companies say their GaN transistors demonstrate substantial performance advantages over legacy silicon-based counterparts.

Advancements in semiconductors have typically required fitting more transistors onto individual chips, but as this process reaches limitations, GaN transistors have demonstrated the ability to be produced in smaller sizes with increased efficiency.

Therefore, the technology offers significant potential when it comes to the development of next-generation devices, such as cutting-edge smartphones, computers, automobiles, satellites and servers.

China’s commerce ministry and customs administration announced on Monday that China will impose an export control system for GaN technology, including GaN chips, from August 1 as Beijing moves to enhance control of the strategic material.

The GaN semiconductor device market is expected to grow by over US$5 billion between 2022 and 2027, according to global technology research and advisory company TechNavio. As such, GaN technology may be dragged into more cross-border commercial disputes, amid rising geopolitical tensions between China and the US and steps by Washington to curtail China’s chip development. South China Morning Post