CMC Materials wins favorable trade ruling

AURORA - CMC Materials Inc., a global supplier of products for the semiconductor manufacturing industry, said it has won a legal victory in its United States International Trade Commission case against DuPont de Nemours Inc. and several DuPont subsidiaries.

The ITC found that DuPont is unlawfully importing, selling and marketing in the U.S. certain chemical slurries and components thereof that infringe on a patent owned by CMC. Based on the ruling, the ITC issued an exclusion order and cease and desist orders prohibiting DuPont's importation, marketing and sale of infringing products and components in the United States.

Following a 60-day Presidential review period, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will stop the importation into the U.S. of DuPont's infringing Optiplane 2300 and Optiplane 2600 slurries and components for a period extending to 2035 - the expiration date of CMC's patent, CMC said.

It also requires any business expecting to "transition away" from the infringing products in the short term to provide a "documented need" for the products under penalty of criminal sanction.

"The CMC breakthrough patent here is just one example of CMC's continued and ongoing significant investments in (research and development) and manufacturing in the United States to advance CMP technology and provide cutting edge products to the semiconductor industry," said H. Carol Bernstein, vice president, secretary and general counsel. "We remain committed to protecting these investments and enforcing our valuable intellectual property, to the benefit of our customers."