Agency agrees to probe LSI patent allegations

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - The International Trade Commission (ITC) has agreed to investigate allegations by two companies, LSI Corp (LSI.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Agere Systems Inc, that their patent was infringed by United Micro Electronics Corp (2303.TW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and 17 other companies, the ITC said on Wednesday.

LSI and Agere said the 18 companies infringed a patent related to semiconductor integrated circuits using tungsten metalization, the ITC said in its statement.

The ITC is popular as a venue for patent lawsuits since, unlike other courts, it can bar imports of items with technology that infringe on patents.

The other companies named in the suit were Integrated Device Technology Inc (IDTI.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), AMIC Technology Corp (3186.TWO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Cypress Semiconductor Corp (CY.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Elpida Memory Inc (6665.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Freescale Semiconductor, Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, Microchip Technology Inc, Micronas Semiconductor Holding AG (MASN.S: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), National Semiconductor Corp (NSM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Nanya Technology Corp (2408.TW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), NXP BV, ON Semiconductor Corp (ONNN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (5346.TWO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), ProMOS Technologies Inc (5387.TWO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Spansion Inc (SPSN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), STMicroelectronics NV (STM.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (5347.TWO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). (Reporting by Diane Bartz; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)