June 27, 2006 – Cabot Microelectronics Corp., a supplier of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries, said that the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has dropped its investigation of alleged patent infringement by Korea’s Cheil Industries Inc.
The ITC instituted an investigation in April after being petitioned by Cabot, which cited several violations including importation and sale within the US of certain CMP slurries that infringe the company’s patents, and requested cease and desist orders. According to an ITC notice, in May Cheil filed a motion for termination of the investigation on the basis of a consent order.
In a statement, Cabot also explained that the ruling bars Cheil from challenging the validity of the patent claims at issue in any proceeding to enforce the consent order.