TDK Sues Silicon Labs Over Chip Patent

TDK Semiconductor Corp. has sued Silicon Laboratories Inc. alleging that a series of the rival company’s chips infringe TDK’s patent.

The suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, claims that at least two Silicon Labs chips violate a patent TDK’s parent holds on methods and circuitry for communicating signals with certain types of chips. Parent TDK Corp. is the Japanese recording media and technology giant.

The chips in question are used in communications products such as modems, said Gary Hecker, attorney for Tustin-based TDK Semiconductor. The company claims it holds a relevant patent relating to methods for minimizing signal distortion.

Silicon Labs, an Austin, Texas, maker of integrated circuits for communications devices, said it has not seen the lawsuit, but believes the allegations are “wholly without merit.”

Silicon Labs shares fell 88 cents to close at $20.97 on Nasdaq, and TDK’s American depositary receipts climbed $1.32 to close at $50.91 on the New York Stock Exchange after the company issued its statement.