Kirkland & Ellis LLP Shows Prowess in ITC Proceedings with Trial Victory for SigmaTel

In a case involving two world leaders in MP3 controller technology, Kirkland & Ellis LLP achieved a favorable result for client SigmaTel, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGTL), a leader in mixed-signal multimedia semiconductors. An International Trade Commission (ITC) Administrative Law Judge determined that Actions Semiconductor Co., Ltd. infringed two SigmaTel patents and recommended the full ITC issue an exclusion order. This case has significant implications for the MP3 chip and player market.

The Honorable Paul J. Luckern, the Administrative Law Judge presiding over the hearing, determined on March 20, 2006, that both of the patents asserted by SigmaTel at the final ITC hearing were valid and infringed. The judge also recommended that an exclusion order be issued which prevents the importation of infringing Actions chips and certain MP3 players which contain these chips. During the case, Actions had contended that it did not infringe SigmaTel's patents and that they were invalid. Actions was represented by Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner. The judge's determination and recommendation will now be reviewed by the full ITC.

This victory adds to Kirkland's strong track record at the ITC, a specialized forum that clients increasingly look to in order to protect their intellectual property from infringement by foreign entities. The Kirkland trial team was led by partners Christian Chadd Taylor and Bao Nguyen. Other attorneys who played a key role in this victory were Gianni Cutri, James B. Coughlan, Joseph J. Jacobi, Benjamin T. Duranske, and Michelle W. Jordan.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 1,100-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex intellectual property and technology, litigation, dispute resolution and arbitration, restructuring, corporate and tax matters. The Firm has offices in San Francisco, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York and Washington, D.C.