A Kioxia factory in Kitakami, a small city in Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan. [AFP]
A Kioxia factory in Kitakami, a small city in Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan. [AFP]

Japanese NAND flash memory chip maker Kioxia Holdings lost a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States and was ordered to pay $229 million in damages, Japanese media including NHK reported Saturday.

US satellite communications company Viasat filed the lawsuit five years ago, alleging that some of Kioxia's flash memory products infringed its patents related to high-speed data processing technology.

The patents cover technology for reducing power consumption and extending the lifespan of memory chips.

A federal jury in Texas ruled in favor of Viasat on Thursday, ordering Kioxia to pay the damages.

Kioxia said it cannot accept the verdict and will pursue all available legal options, including an appeal.

Kioxia shares fell sharply on the Japanese stock market Friday, hit by the patent ruling and a broader global decline in semiconductor stocks.

The company closed Friday's session on the Tokyo Stock Exchange down 16.10 percent at 52,110 yen, pushing its market cap to 28.52 trillion yen — less than half the peak it recorded on June 22.

The Nikkei 225 also closed Friday down 2,694 points, or 4.0 percent, at 64,141 — its lowest level since June 8.

The single-day point decline was the fifth largest on record.

The Nikkei Shimbun attributed part of the selloff to concerns that CXMT, a Chinese memory chip maker preparing for an initial public offering, could eat into Kioxia's market share.

South Korea's financial regulator's recent move to tighten rules on single-stock leveraged ETFs was also seen as a factor, as it dampened buying of Japanese equities closely linked to such products.


soohan@heraldcorp.com