(Reuters) - A U.S. trade body on Monday upheld its earlier decision that rejected Nvidia Corp's claims of patent violation by Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) Co and Qualcomm (O:QCOM) Inc over use of Nvidia's graphics chip technology.
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) decided not to review an initial order by an administrative law judge on Oct. 9 as it found no violation of Nvidia's patents related to graphics-processing chips. (http://1.usa.gov/1QpISQc)
Judge Thomas Pender had said Samsung did not infringe two Nvidia patents, and while it did infringe a third, he ruled that the patent was invalid because it was not a new invention compared with previously known patents.
Nvidia, which said it invented the first graphics processing chip and released it in 1999, had accused Korea's Samsung and San Diego-based Qualcomm of using its patents on graphics chip technology without permission or compensation.
Nvidia alleged the companies infringed its patents with Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors and Samsung's Exynos processors, and was seeking to prevent the import of several Samsung products, including its Galaxy smartphones and tablets.
The USITC has the authority to stop the import of products that it determines infringe a U.S. patent. Companies frequently sue at the USITC to win an import ban and in federal courts to win damages.
Nvidia said it looks to appeal the USITC's decision.
"We remain firm in our belief that our patents are valid and have been infringed," Nvidia said in a blog post on Monday.
Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm were not immediately available for comment.