Feb. 27, 2002 – Bilthoven, Netherlands – Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASM Lithography issued a formal denial that it has infringed upon any patents of its major rival, Nikon Corp. of Japan.
Nikon filed suit in December with the US International Trade Commission alleging that ASML has infringed on seven of its patents, reported the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
ASML CEO Doug Dunn said in response to the suit that he was “confident that ASML hadn’t violated any patents,” and that he believed the suit was an “act of desperation” on Nikon’s part as it lost market share to ASML.