According to Power Integrations, a federal district court has doubled the financial damages awarded to the company in its patent-infringement case against Fairchild Semiconductor. This action follows an earlier ruling in which the Court found that Fairchild’s infringement of Power Integrations’ patents was willful. Following the increase, the total damage award now stands at approximately $12 million.
Fairchild was found to infringe four Power Integrations patents following a 2006 jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. In 2008, following rejections of Fairchild’s challenges to the validity and enforceability of the patents, the Court awarded Power Integrations approximately $6 million in damages and issued a permanent injunction against more than 100 infringing Fairchild products. The Court issued its willfulness finding in July 2010, paving the way for enhancement of the damages. The results of the case remain subject to appeal.