States to sue chip makers over price-fixing
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Global computer memory chip  makers including Samsung Electronics Co. and Micron Technology  Inc. were sued on Thursday by New York Attorney General Eliot  Spitzer for allegedly conspiring to raise memory chip prices.
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(InfoWorld) - Samsung Electronics, the world's largest DRAM (dynamic RAM) maker, agreed to pay $90 million in a DRAM price fixing suit raised by a group of U.S. state governments, the first company named in the suit to reach such an accord. Samsung also agreed to assist the states in resolving price-fixing charges against other defendants named in the suit, the Office of the New York State Attorney General said in a statement on Tuesday. The agreement ends the case against Samsung. TheÂ lawsuit was filed last JulyÂ by New York and 40 other U.S. states in a joint antitrust effort against several DRAM (dynamic RAM) makers over alleged price-fixing, adding to industry woes amid an ongoing federal investigation that has already led to $731 million in fines. They alleged the companies violated antitrust laws and harmed consumers by conspiring to fix prices through artificial supply restraints, dividing markets among themselves and rigging bids on DRAM contracts during a four year period between 1998 and 2002. The price fixing scheme caused computer makers such as Apple and DellÂ to pay more for DRAM than they would have in a competitive market, the suit alleged, and the costs were then passed on to consumers. The Samsung settlement will be used to benefit victims of high DRAM prices, with $80 million going to consumers and other victims, and $10 million being paid out to state and local governments. New York's attorney general said the state's specific share of the settlement will be determined in the future. Samsung's Seoul office declined to comment on the settlement, saying its U.S. subsidiary was handling all issues regarding the case. Hynix Semiconductor, another company named in the suit, said it is too early to tell what impact the Samsung deal may have on the case. "We're still looking into the matter. We haven't decided anything yet," said Kim Ah-Young, a Hynix representative. The accord with Samsung is subject to approval by the federal court in San Francisco. The litigation will continue against other DRAM makers named in the suit, including U.S.-based Micron Technology, Infineon Technologies of Germany, South Korea's Hynix, Japan's Elpida Memory and NEC Electronics America, Taiwan's Mosel Vitelic and Nanya TechnologyÂ as well as their U.S. subsidiaries. The case by the states started after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation had already led to several guilty pleas, which resulted in millions of dollars in fines and jail time for a dozen individuals from four companies. In late 2005,Â Samsung was ordered to payÂ a $300 million criminal fine in the DOJ case, while South Korean rivalÂ Hynix Semiconductor agreed to payÂ $185 million. Infineon Technologies, of Germany, wasÂ first to pay a fineÂ of $160 million, in late 2004. Earlier last year, Japan'sÂ Elpida Memory agreed to plead guiltyÂ and pay a $84 million fine.
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Micron Technology Inc., the world&#39;s No. 2 maker of computer-memory chips, struck a deal with the US Justice Department to shield it from sanctions after a probe found some employees engaged in price fixing.
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Sun Microsystems Inc. and Unisys Corp. have filed a U.S. lawsuit against South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc., apparently seeking damages related to a federal probe into price-fixing of memory chips, Hynix said Tuesday.
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Infineon Technologies AG has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $160 million fine for participating in an international conspiracy to fix prices in the DRAM market, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said today.
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By Jennifer Davies, The San Diego Union-Tribune  Dec. 12--In the latest round of an ongoing legal battle between the  wireless chip makers, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled yesterday  that Qualcomm is infringing on a patent held by rival Broadcom.
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SEOUL: South Korean microchip makers said they face a US investigation into a price-fixing conspiracy in which German maker Infineon technologies has already suffered heavy fines.
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Agrees to cough up $90m Samsung will pay $90m to bring to an end lawsuits brought against it by 41 US states as a result of its role in a worldwide DRAM price-fixing cartel. It will also aid the plaintiffs in ongoing legal action against its co-conspirators.â¦
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Infineon Technologies AG, a German manufacturer of DRAM (dynamic RAM) has agreed to plead guilty and pay a US$160 million fine for attempting to fix prices in the DRAM market, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday.
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Four Infineon (Quote, Chart) executives agreed to plead guilty to charges they conspired to fix prices in the computer memory sector, officials said Thursday.
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Three German and one American executives of microchip giant Infineon Technologies face jail terms and fines under plea agreements to settle a US probe into price-fixing, the Justice Department said.
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Toshiba has filed patent infringement lawsuits in Japan and the US against South Korea&#39;s Hynix Semiconductor. The suits allege that Hynix violated Toshiba&#39;s patents covering NAND-type flash memory chips.
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A group of 14 independent pharmacists in California filed a lawsuit in Oakland on Thursday against the world&#39;s largest pharmaceutical companies, accusing them of conspiring to inflate drug prices in the United States as part of an illegal price-fixing
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The world&#39;s largest computer software manufacturer filed suit Tuesday in US District Court against a local software retailer it claims is selling and distributing counterfeit software labels.
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German chip maker is asking the court to dismiss the patent infringement suit.
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Company files patent infringement lawsuit and asks trade commission to halt shipment of rival's flash memory into United States.
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update Infineon Technologies will plead guilty to taking part in an international DRAM price-fixing conspiracy, which affected such companies as Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Apple, the US Department of Justice announced Wednesday.