Semiconductor - VIA Settles Lawsuits with MediaTek, D-Link
August 05, 2004
VIA Technologies settled its patent infringement case out of court with MediaTek, marking an end to its string of lawsuits and disputes from competitors. The settlement obligated VIA to pay US$50 million in installments to MediaTek for rights to MediaTek's patents over the next five years.
Although the settlement fee was lower than expected, it is already nearly half as much as the US$1.2 billion revenue VIA accumulated since its establishment. VIA's monthly revenue dropped from US$4.4 million in the second half of 2002 to under US$ 1.5 million in August 2004.
VIA's lawsuit with D-Link ended free of compensation. The event, however, put both its president and general manager on the witness stand. Several of the company's business directors also left during the turmoil.
In 2001, VIA's P4 chipset business was also hit by an infringement lawsuit from Intel, which drained its revenues and talent, and is still keeping VIA chipset models' development pace far behind Intel.
Now free from lawsuits, it remains to be seen how fast VIA can repair the damages, and regain market share.