March 2024 - Innoscience Technology, a company founded to create a global energy ecosystem based on high-performance, low-cost, gallium-nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) power solutions, welcomes two decisions, from March 20, 2024, by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to institute review of the validity of the two remaining U.S. patents, as asserted by Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) against Innoscience. In these decisions, the USPTO wrote that “there is a reasonable likelihood that Petitioner [Innoscience] would prevail with respect to at least one of the claims challenged in the Petition.”
The USPTO’s March 20, 2024 rulings are the latest developments related to EPC’s lawsuits against Innoscience, where EPC continues to struggle in its meritless attacks on Innoscience. In these recent rulings, three judges from the USPTO have initially agreed with Innoscience, that the EPC patents that Innoscience challenged at the USPTO are invalid. In at least one case, Innoscience argued to the USPTO that the challenged EPC patent was invalid, based on a prior patent of an EPC cofounder/inventor when he was at International Rectifier, and on a preliminary basis, according to the institution decision, the USPTO agreed with Innoscience. In both proceedings at the USPTO, Innoscience has described multiple reasons why the two EPC patents are invalid, and for virtually every argument on invalidity, the USPTO initially agreed. Next, the USPTO will receive additional briefing and make a final determination by March 20, 2025.
EPC has consistently struggled with its meritless claims against Innoscience. In May 2023, EPC initiated legal proceedings against Innoscience in the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington, DC, alleging infringement of four EPC patents.
by certain Innoscience GaN devices. In response, Innoscience promptly denied EPC’s allegations of infringement as well as the validity of the EPC patents. Innoscience initiated vigorous defenses on multiple fronts, including the filing of inter partes review (IPR) petitions in the USPTO, challenging the validity of all of the asserted patents. During the ITC investigation, EPC withdrew two of its four original patents, giving up half of its case, and the other two patents are now at the risk of being invalidated and cancelled by the USPTO. The ITC also held a hearing on these two remaining patents in February/March, 2024, and the ITC will issue initial determination by June 3, 2024, with a final determination due by October 3, 2024, which may be subject to extensions of time.
The fight continues, but Innoscience is confident that it will achieve an eventual full victory in the dispute with EPC. With the recent USPTO decisions of March 20, 2024, Innoscience continues to achieve successes in its legal dispute with EPC, and the USPTO decisions further demonstrate that EPC’s accusations against Innoscience lack merit, given that the USPTO has now determined, at least initially, that the last two EPC patents asserted by EPC are likely invalid.
About Innoscience
Innoscience, founded in 2015, leads the GaN technology forefront, by becoming the world’s largest GaN Integrated Device Manufacturer (IDM) that integrates and streamlines all processes including design, manufacturing, packaging, circuit applications, marketing, and sales. Innoscience has developed the technology to provide highly performing and reliable GaN devices for a wide range of applications and voltages (30V-700V) with unmatched control over the world’s largest 8-inch GaN-on-Si wafer manufacturing capacity, which enables Innoscience to significantly reduce its production cost.
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