US jury finds Hon Hai Industries liable for infringement of FCI’s BGA connector patents

FCI has won a substantial victory in its patent infringement suit involving FCI's BGA connector technology brought in the U.S. against Hon Hai Precision Industries.On February 13, 2004, after a two week trial in San Francisco, an American jury returned a verdict finding Hon Hai liable for infringement of two FCI patents relating to its BGA connector technology.The jury also found the infringement to be "willful" and that Hon Hai is liable for multi-million dollar damages as a result of its infringement of FCI's patents. The infringing sockets are used in computer notebooks, desktops and servers that use ball grid array (BGA) socket technology. Commenting on the verdict Jean Lucien Lamy, FCI Chairman and CEO, said: "I never doubted the strength of our case and I am very pleased with the outcome. We will continue, in this instance and in any other cases that should arise, to pursue all legal means to protect our intellectual property."BGA patented technology from FCI is currently licensed worldwide to Tyco and Molex for socket applications.Source: PCBnewsline