Hueston Hennigan secured a complete victory for client Micron Technology when a judge dismissed with prejudice a Lanham Act lawsuit brought by China-based semiconductor producer Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC).
The suit accused Micron of supporting statements that YMTC is affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, and that its chips pose a threat to U.S. national security. The litigation is related to the flash memory chips used for smart phones, televisions and other devices that store data even after the device is turned off.
The motion, granted by Judge Carl J. Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was brought by Micron and co-defendant DCI Group AZ, LLC. The judge agreed with the firm’s arguments, holding that the China Tech Threat publications YMTC relied on were “political speech expressing a point of view, not commercial speech,” and therefore could not be the basis for YMTC’s claims under the Lanham Act. The court also denied YMTC’s request for leave to amend, reasoning that because the publications are noncommercial speech there is no amendment YMTC could make to state a claim for relief under the Lanham Act.
The team includes Douglas Dixon, Hagan Scotten, Sourabh Mishra and Chandler Matz.
Press coverage: “Judge dismisses lawsuit claiming Micron spread false claims to hurt Chinese chip rival YMTC,” Reuters; “Micron Sinks Chinese Chip Patent Rival’s ‘Astroturfing’ Suit,” Bloomberg; “Chinese chipmaker YMTC sues rival Micron in US over spyware claims,” Reuters.