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Silicon Labs sues Axiom for trade secret theft
By siliconindia
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Monday, 01 March 2004, 20:30 IST
AUSTIN: Silicon Laboratories Inc filed a lawsuit against former employee Ali Niknejad and Axiom Microdevices alleging theft of trade secrets.
The suit was filed to prevent Axiom Microdevices from using trade secrets to develop CMOS RF power amplifiers or any other products, Silicon Labs has said in a press release.
CMOS, or complementary metal oxide semiconductor, is used to regulate power in wireless devices, local area networks and other applications.
A representative for Silicon Labs wasn't immediately available to say what prompted the company's action, nor was a spokeswoman for Axiom Microdevices.
The maker of analog-intensive mixed-signal integrated circuits said Niknejad worked on its new CMOS RF power amplifier and breached his ethical, contractual and fiduciary obligations to Silicon Labs by providing confidential information to Axiom Microdevices.
Niknejad is a member of Axiom Microdevices' technical advisory board and is also an assistant professor in the electrical engineering and computer sciences department at UC Berkeley. He is a member at the Berkeley Wireless Research Center and is the co-director of the BSIM Research Group.
Founded in April 2002, Axiom Microdevices uses CMOS processes to produce integrated power amplifiers for the cellular telephone market.