Micron (NASDAQ: MU) confirmed on Thursday a court in China had granted a preliminary junction that bans its Chinese subsidiaries from manufacturing and selling some of its products in the Asian country.
The company was quoted as saying the affected products represent "slightly more than 1%" of its annual sales. Micron added the injunction will hurt its current fiscal fourth quarter revenue by "approximately" 1%, but the chipmaker continues to expect sales to be within the previously guided range of $8 billion to $8.4 billion U.S.
United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) and Jinhua sought the sales ban, alleging that Micron violated its patent rights in China. UMC and Micron have gone back and forth in the courts, alleging various intellectual property violations.
Micron official Joel Poppen was quoted in a release thus: "Micron is disappointed with the ruling by the Fuzhou Intermediate People’s Court. We strongly believe that the patents are invalid and that Micron’s products do not infringe the patents. The Fuzhou Court issued this preliminary ruling before allowing Micron an opportunity to present its defense."
Micron said the injunction relates to certain of its Crucial and Ballistix-branded memory modules and solid state drives sold in China.
On Tuesday, UMC released a statement claiming a Chinese court had temporarily banned sales of Micron chips in China. Micron shares closed down 5.5% the day before the Fourth of July holiday. Those shares opened Thursday trading hiked $1.31, or 2.5%, to $52.75
