Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of Silicon Image and Against Genesis Microchip
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 12, 2006) — On Thursday, April 6, 2006, following just one day of oral argument, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) handed down a per curiam (Rule 36) affirmance of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in the case of Silicon Image v. Genesis Microchip. McDermott Will & Emery represented Silicon Image at the district court and on appeal.
The CAFC rejected this appeal by Genesis Microchip to undo a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or settlement agreement entered into with Silicon Image on December 18, 2002. The MOU was intended to settle Silicon Image’s patent infringement claims against Genesis. After Genesis repudiated certain key provisions of the MOU, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia conducted extensive hearings on the formation and meaning of the settlement. In its opinion issued in July 2003, the district court rejected Genesis’ interpretation of the memo, and found that Genesis had knowingly and willingly agreed to pay, in return for certain licenses, a monetary settlement, license fees and running royalties on all Genesis products that complied with the Digital Visual Interface (DVI) and High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) standards. After the district court issued its opinion, Genesis persisted in challenging the memo, and twice appealed the district court’s opinion to the Federal Circuit.
The McDermott appeal team included Silicon Valley partner David Larson, who presented the oral argument, Washington, D.C. partner Paul Devinsky, Silicon Valley partner Terry McMahon and Washington, D.C. associate Amanda Koenig.
Silicon Image, Inc. (Nasdaq: SIMG), headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is a leader in the secure storage, distribution and presentation of high-definition content. Silicon Image creates and drives industry standards for digital content delivery such as DVI, HDMI and UDI, leveraging strategic partnerships with global leaders in consumer electronics and personal computing. For more information on Silicon Image, visit http://www.siliconimage.com/.
