Semiconductor patent protection upgrades: OmniVision Technologies files lawsuit against SmartSens

The patent protection war in the semiconductor industry has reignited. According to the case number (2019) Hu73ZhiMinChu508, on July 4, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court formally accepted the case of OmniVision Technologies (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "OmniVision Technologies") against Jiangsu SmartSens Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SmartSens") for infringement of invention patent rights. According to the trial process, this highly anticipated CMOS patent protection war will be heard in court soon.

Semiconductors have become a major target for patent infringements, and OmniVision Technologies has stepped up its efforts to protect its rights

The semiconductor industry is highly technology-intensive, and there are lawsuits almost every day. Patent lawsuits in this field are characterized by high technical difficulty, long cycle, and wide impact. Although my country has strengthened the protection of intellectual property rights such as patents at the judicial level in recent years, there are still many infringements in the market.

OmniVision Technologies is the absolute leader in innovative technology in the CMOS field. It has a great influence in the fields of mobile phones, security, and automobiles. It has been committed to the technical research and development and patent accumulation of CMOS chips for many years. Public data shows that OmniVision has more than 3,000 valid patents in related fields worldwide. With the huge volume of patented technology, the number of similar infringing chips in the market has increased accordingly.

Founded in 2011, SmartSens mainly designs CMOS image sensor chips. Its products cover application areas such as security monitoring and vehicle-mounted imaging. OmniVision Technologies has many overlaps in its products and business areas.

The patent dispute between OmniVision and SmartSens has a long history. As early as October 2017, OmniVision initiated a lawsuit against SmartSens, requesting the court to order SmartSens to immediately stop patent infringement on the SC5035 chip and pay compensation. Since then, OmniVision has also initiated several patent protection actions against SmartSens. So far, three of the patents in OmniVision's lawsuit against SmartSens for patent infringement have been recognized as valid by the Patent Reexamination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office, and two other patents involved in the case have entered the patent reconsideration stage.

It is understood that the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court believes that OmniVision Technologies' lawsuit against SmartSens meets the statutory acceptance conditions and decided to file the case for trial based on the fact that the patent infringement case involves a number of patents that have been determined to be valid by the Patent Reexamination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office.

OmniVision Technologies has achieved a major breakthrough in R&D and entered a new stage of development

As an essential component in the digital transmission process, CMOS image processing sensors will usher in rapid growth in the mobile terminal, vehicle-mounted, Internet of Things and other markets. While defending its legitimate rights and interests, OmniVision Technologies is also increasing its efforts in technology research and development to continuously consolidate its position in the industry.

Following the new infrared technology of Nighthawk Nyxel™, OmniVision Technologies launched the 2.9μm OS04A10 image sensor on June 25 this year. Its nm near-infrared technology makes dark shooting more outstanding, and its performance is 2 to 3 times better than that of its main competitors, and its power consumption is reduced by 2 to 4 times. At the same time, the chip size is smaller and has greater flexibility. The HDR function of this product can be flexibly matched with the image signal processor, which is very competitive in the high-end product market in the security field and is expected to increase the market share of the security market.

Prior to this, on June 17, OmniVision Technologies' official website released its latest 48-megapixel product, OV48B, which is mainly used in general sensors for smartphone rear cameras, including main cameras, wide-angle cameras, and telephoto cameras, which means that the company has officially entered the vast blue ocean market of main cameras. Industry insiders believe that according to the product development route, the company is expected to develop in the direction of 0.7μm in the future, and in terms of pixels, it will also move towards 64 million pixels and higher, so as to catch up with the pace of Samsung's product launches, and at the same time further narrow the gap with Sony, which will help boost next year's performance growth.

Since 2019, OmniVision has launched a number of products in the automotive field, such as the latest automotive image sensors OX01D10, OAX4010, OX3A, OX1F, and automotive image signal processors (ISPs). With the continuous development of the Asia-Pacific market, OmniVision Technologies' automotive field is expected to achieve rapid growth.

In the capital market, on June 22, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued the approval document for Will Semiconductor (603501) to acquire OmniVision Technologies, which also marks that both parties will enter a new stage of development. Will Semiconductor is a rare company in China that has grown its business with both upstream design and downstream distribution. With the power of capital and the influence of synergy, OmniVision Technologies' market expansion and business layout will usher in a new situation.

At the same time, market analysis points out that due to the dual influence of policies and market demand, the industry is booming, especially with the establishment of the Science and Technology Innovation Board. The medium- and long-term development space of semiconductors is unanimously optimistic in the market and has long-term certainty. Relevant leading companies will surely enter a new round of rapid growth.