The company’s engineers allegedly stole IP from VIA to use in their USB 3.0 controller

Sep 5, 2012 03:01 GMT  ·  By

Semiconductor design company ASMedia is now under very tight scrutiny from the Taiwan law enforcement agencies, as the company is being accused of patent infringement by well-known chipset and processor designer VIA.

Word has it that several VIA engineers left the company and went to work for ASMedia and they now claim there that ASMedia’s chips are using the former’s IP and technology.

VIA Labs Inc – or VLI, as they like to call themselves – is one of the few original and innovative USB 3.0 controller makers and designers in the world competing with the giant NEC and ASMedia is now trying to get a small slice of the market.

Lin Che-wei, ASMedia president held a press conference where he said that the company would fully cooperate with the authorities.

One interesting aspect is the fact that ASMedia is an ASUS subsidiary.