Tellabs accused of patent violations

JDS Uniphase Corp.’s complaint seeking to bar rivals from importing tunable laser chips that infringe its patents will be investigated by U.S. trade officials.

The U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington said today it will investigate the Nov. 5 claim by JDS, the Milpitas, California-based maker of phone equipment for companies such as AT&T Inc. JDS said Tellabs Inc., Ciena Corp. and Nortel Networks Corp. are violating the patents by wrongfully using laser chips that can be adjusted to different wavelengths.

“The ITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case,” the agency said in a statement. The ITC, set up to protect U.S. markets from unfair trade practices, has the power to order a ban on imports that violate U.S. patents.

Tunable laser components allow network operators to generate light at a wide range of wavelengths when transmitting data through optical fibers. JDS says its technology allows for the replacement of multiple semiconductors with a single, tunable chip, reducing the number of replacement lasers.

Bookham Inc., Adva Optical Networking, Syntune AB, and Cyoptics Inc. also are accused of violating the patents. Ciena, Tellabs, Adva and Nortel products use infringing technology from Bookham, Syntune and Cyoptics, according to JDS.

JDS rose 25 cents, or 8.6 percent, to $3.15 at 4:03 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Ciena rose 77 cents, or 12 percent, to $7.24, while Tellabs remained unchanged at $4.09.

JDS has litigation pending against Bookham, Syntune and Cyoptics. In a filing in federal court in San Jose, California, Cyoptics and Syntune said they didn’t infringe the patents. The companies also claim the patents were invalid.

The case is In the Matter of Certain Tunable Laser Chips, Assemblies, and Products Containing Same, 337-662, U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington).