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  • Case Opinion

Ziptronix, Inc. v. OmniVision Techs.

Ziptronix, Inc. v. OmniVision Techs.

United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division

October 21, 2014, Decided

Case No: C 10-05525 SBA

Opinion

 [*1092]  ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

(REDACTED)

Docket 372

Plaintiff Ziptronix, Inc. ("Ziptronix") brings the instant patent infringement action against Defendants OmniVision Technologies, Inc. ("OmniVision"), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. ("TSMC Ltd."), and TSMC North America Corp. ("TSMC NA") (collectively, "TSMC"), alleging infringement of nine patents1 involving technology associated with the manufacture and structure of an image sensor found in devices with photo-capturing capabilities, e.g., tablets and smartphones. The parties are presently before the Court on TSMC's motion for summary judgment. Ziptronix opposes the motion. Having read and considered the papers filed in connection with this matter and being fully informed, the Court hereby GRANTS TSMC's motion, for the reasons stated below. The Court, in its discretion, finds this matter suitable for resolution without oral argument. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 78(b); N.D. Cal. Civ. L.R. 7-1(b).

I. BACKGROUND2

Ziptronix is a North Carolina company with its principal place of business in North Carolina. Ziptronix develops technologies concerning semiconductor integration processes, and is the owner of patents covering technologies related to advanced semiconductor processing. Specifically, Ziptronix owns patents directed to the bonding technology essential to the fabrication of the accused products in this action - OmniVision's backside-illuminated image sensors ("image sensors").3 Ziptronix also owns patents directed to the structures of the image sensors themselves.

OmniVision is a Delaware corporation that is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. OmniVision designs image sensor chips that are used in a variety of electronic products, including tablets and smartphones. The image sensors are the "brains" behind the [**4]  imaging technology in these products. OmniVision secures the production of the image sensors through several manufacturing partners in Asia, including TSMC Ltd.

TSMC Ltd. is a Taiwanese corporation that is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan. TSMC Ltd. manufactures semiconductor wafers ("wafers"), a component of the accused image sensors. TSMC Ltd. serves as the "long-time foundry and process technology partner"4 of OmniVision. In this capacity, TSMC Ltd. manufactures wafers on behalf of OmniVision in Taiwan.  [*1093]  After the wafers are manufactured, they are delivered to OmniVision or one of its vendors in Taiwan. OmniVision or one of its customers then arranges for additional components to be added to the wafers by several manufacturing firms in Asia. After the manufacturing process is complete, the finished products (i.e., the accused image sensors) are delivered to third-party fabricators in Asia for inclusion into end-user applications such as tablets and smartphones. According to Ziptronix, the end-user applications are then imported into the United States by OmniVision's customers and sold in the United States.

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71 F. Supp. 3d 1090 *; 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149677 **

ZIPTRONIX, INC., Plaintiff, vs. OMNIVISION TECHNOLOGIES, INC., TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD., and TSMC NORTH AMERICA CORP., Defendants.

Prior History: Ziptronix, Inc. v. Omnivision Techs., Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129275 (N.D. Cal., Nov. 7, 2011)

CORE TERMS

infringement, sensors, wafers, patent, manufacture, summary judgment, offer to sell, induced, customers, REDACTED, entities, import, abroad, contracting, indirect, products, patented invention, technology, occurs, negotiated, sales, extraterritorially, patents-in-suit, knowingly, nonmoving, contends, domestic, sells