Downers Grove company can appeal patent ruling

Analog Devices Inc., the maker of chips used in cars and consumer electronics, won its U.S. International Trade Commission case against Dover Corp.'s Knowles Electronics over microphones in digital devices.

The commission yesterday said Knowles and Mouser Electronics Inc. violated a patent owned by Analog Devices and said the products that infringe the patent should be barred from the U.S. It upheld a judge's findings from December.

Each company has accused the other of infringing patents related to microphones that are made on silicon chips, which render them smaller than traditional microphones and provide higher-quality recording. Knowles lost its case after the commission found no violation by Norwood, Massachusetts-based Analog Devices.

The exclusion order must be reviewed by President Barack Obama and the U.S. Trade Representative to see if there is any conflict with public policy. The underlying patent case can be appealed by Downers Grove-based Dover to a court that specializes in U.S. patent law.

The ADI case is in the Matter of MEMS Devices, 337-700 and the Knowles case is in the Matter of Silicon Microphone Packages, 337-695, both U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington).