19
Mar
On March 18, 2010, ALJ Carl C. Charneski issued a notice regarding his Enforcement Initial Determination (“EID”) in Certain Voltage Regulators, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same (Inv. No. 337-TA-564).  In the notice ALJ Charneski found “a violation of the limited exclusion order issued by the Commission on September 24, 2007.”  The notice further stated that the EID recommended “that a cease and desist order issue against the respondent.”

By way of background, the Commission instituted the violation phase of the investigation on March 22, 2006 based on a complaint filed by Linear Technology Corporation (“Linear”) of Milpitas, California, naming Advanced Analogic Technologies, Inc. (“AATI”) of Sunnyvale, California as the sole respondent. On September 24, 2007, the Commission issued its Final Determination on the question of violation finding that certain AATI products infringed claims 2, 3, and 34 of U.S. Patent No. 6,580,258.  The Commission also issued a limited exclusion order directed toward AATI.  Linear thereafter filed a complaint requesting that the Commission institute a formal enforcement proceeding against AATI for alleged violation of the limited exclusion order.  On October 1, 2008, the Commission issued its Notice of Institution of Formal Enforcement Proceeding against AATI “to determine whether AATI is in violation of the Commission’s limited exclusion order issued in the investigation, and what, if any, enforcement measures are appropriate.”

ALJ Charneski’s March 18, 2010 EID is confidential, and we will provide additional information once the public version of the EID issues.