Dutch chip-making specialist ASML rifles through pockets of rival XTAL: Nice IP. We'll be having that

After a long and bloody struggle, Dutch chip-making kit vendor ASML surveys the battlefield: its enemies are dead, and all that's left are their assets. The company will be taking over the IP portfolio of its bankrupt Silicon Valley competitor XTAL after being awarded $845m in a final judgment by the Santa Clara County …

[Anonymous Coward]

"electrical design automation"?

Its actually electronic design automation.

[Doctor Syntax]

"XTAL's attempt to file for bankruptcy before the trial court could end. If the company succeeded, it could sell off its intellectual property – even if it featured chunks of ASML's code."

I can't imagine much success if the property was largely at risk of being invalidated by the ongoing court case.

[Sandtitz]

"I can't imagine much success if the property was largely at risk of being invalidated by the ongoing court case."

Some Chinese company would have instantly bought it at a premium.

[A.P. Veening]

I can't imagine much success if the property was largely at risk of being invalidated by the ongoing court case.

Someone thought it was worth trying.

[KrisMac]

It's not us it's THEM..

"..The paper suggested that ASML could have been a victim of Chinese espionage.."

..The Wookie of "Chinese espionage" being thrown out to mask the truth that a fairly large chunk of the most egregious IP theft is perpetrated by US companies....

[Bronek Kozicki]

Re: It's not us it's THEM..

Well, I don't know. It could be that the Chinese already have all the relevant know-how and do not need to spy on European or American competitors. Or, you know, they just might want to make use of the legal immunity, implicitly provided by the local government, and have a look at what their competitors are doing, of course only to strengthen the domestic market and nothing to do with the actual spying, which as we know is evil.

[Nick Kew]

I'm impressed

A US court has found for a foreign company against one of their own ...

... and, it seems, without the legal process having destroyed that foreign company on the way.

[imanidiot]

Re: I'm impressed

ASML does a lot of business in the US and the division involved in the theft is US based and registered (and of US origin before being acquired by ASML). So, no the court is NOT finding for a foreign company.

[Kabukiwookie]

The company will be taking over the IP portfolio of its bankrupt Silicon Valley competitor XTAL

Why would ASML be interested in XTAL's IP if the latter supposedly stole it from the former to begin with?

Read a bit more about this issue and there was initially an accusation of state espionage.

The more I read about the founders of XTAL (the CEO apparently had 20 years of experience, had quite a few patents against his name and worked at ASML for quite a long time.

This whole affair seems more like someone who didn't feel appreciated at ASML founding his own company and taking his patents with him.

Sour grapes from ASML may have been part of the root cause of the suit and breaking out the chinese espionage bandwagon may have affected the judgement.

Haven't read into this further after the initial reporting, but it would be interesting to know if those patents held by the XTAL CEO are now part of the treasure trove that ASML received.

[Kabukiwookie]

Last month, Dutch financial newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad reported XTAL was linked to silicon manufacturing operations in China, and the Chinese government.

This was later contradicted by the ASML CEO himself, which shows just how much 'investigative' those journalists from the Financiele Dagblad are.

[Graham Cunningham]

"A few dozen nanometers"

Even if "10nm", "7nm" and "5nm" are not literal channel lengths, an accuracy of "a few dozen nanometers" wouldn't seem to cut the mustard. Should that be "ångströms"?