In a suit that could affect the entire semiconductor industry, an independent inventor is claiming rights to widely used semiconductor manufacturing processes.
John Coleman filed suit against 37 Korean and Japanese companies in the Eastern District Court of New York on Dec. 28. The suit, Plasma Physics Corp. v. Fujitsu Limited, 99-8593, claims that the Asian companies are infringing three patents. Two pertain to semiconductor manufacturing processes using plasma chemical vapor deposition. The third patent covers thin film transistor liquid crystal displays used to make flat screens for computers and televisions.
