Nov 13 2008
Knowles Electronics, LLC ("Knowles"), a maker of MEMS microphones owned by the Dover Corporation, and MEMSTech Bhd ("MEMSTech"), an emerging player in the MEMS microphone market, are currently working through a legal dispute initiated by Knowles on December 6, 2007 and pending in the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).
The current market for MEMS microphones is estimated to be approximately $300 million with most of the sales going to the handset market. Approximately 1.4 billion handsets are sold worldwide on an annual basis. Other important market segments for MEMS microphones include PCs and cameras. Knowles is the dominant player in the MEMS microphone space having shipped more than 500 million units. MEMSTech began developing its MEMS microphone in 2002 and initiated volume production and shipping in early 2007.
ITC heard arguments by Knowles and MEMSTech during the course of a four-day hearing in September, and the initial determination is scheduled to be issued on January 14, 2009. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is handling the case under Investigation No. 337-TA-629.
Notably, in November 2006, Knowles filed an intellectual property complaint against another MEMS microphone maker, AAC Acoustic Technologies ("AAC") in a federal court in the Northern District of Illinois. According to AAC's website, the court subsequently denied Knowles motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to bar AAC's production of MEMS microphones, finding that Knowles failed to make a showing of a probability of success on the merits. Subsequently, Knowles and AAC resolved their litigations and Knowles issued a statement in December 2007 indicating that the parties had entered into a worldwide cross-license agreement.
The intellectual property disputes in the MEMS microphone market are yet another indication that competition in the consumer MEMS applications space is heating up.