Photo: Innoscience
China's Supreme People's Court ruled on June 12, upholding the preliminary sales injunction previously issued by the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court against Infineon Technologies. The Supreme Court rejected all reconsideration requests filed by the German semiconductor manufacturer.
Under the ruling, Infineon is prohibited from selling, offering for sale, or importing specific gallium nitride (GaN) products into China. The decision is final and not subject to further appeal.
China: A Decisive Victory for Innoscience
The Chinese proceedings between the two parties began in early 2025, when InnoScience (Suzhou) Technology Holding Co., Ltd. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Innoscience (Suzhou) Semiconductor Co., Ltd., filed a lawsuit with the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court. The defendants included Infineon Technologies (China) Co., Ltd., Infineon Technologies (Wuxi) Co., Ltd., and local distributor Suzhou Chipswork Electronics Technologies Co., Ltd.
Innoscience alleged infringement of two of its invention patents: Chinese Patent No. 202311774650.7 titled "a gallium nitride (GaN) power device and preparation method thereof," and Chinese Patent No. 202211387983.X titled "a nitride-based semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same." Both patents cover key structural and fabrication technologies for GaN power devices.
Infineon filed invalidation actions against both patents with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). On November 19, 2025, the CNIPA maintained all claims of both patents as valid and rejected Infineon's invalidation requests. Infineon then filed an administrative lawsuit with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court, which on April 24, 2026, issued a first-instance judgment dismissing Infineon's claims and confirming the validity of the two patents.
On May 27, 2026, the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court issued a first-instance judgment finding Infineon liable for infringing both patents. The court ordered Infineon to immediately cease sales, offers for sale, and imports of the infringing products, and awarded Innoscience RMB 10 million in economic damages. The judgment became effective immediately.
Infineon sought reconsideration of the preliminary injunction from the Supreme People's Court. On June 12, 2026, the Supreme People's Court affirmed the Suzhou court's injunction, bringing the Chinese proceedings to a close.
Global Landscape: Mixed Outcomes in the U.S. and Germany
The patent disputes between Innoscience and Infineon extend beyond China, with parallel proceedings in the United States and Germany. To date, each jurisdiction has produced a distinct outcome.
United States: Mixed ITC Ruling. In the U.S. market, the International Trade Commission issued its final determination in May 2026 in Investigation No. 337-TA-1414. The ruling presents a mixed outcome, with each side claiming partial victories.
Infineon initially asserted four U.S. patents against Innoscience but withdrew its allegations regarding two of them — U.S. Patent Nos. 8,686,562 and 8,264,003 — during the proceedings. As to the remaining two patents, the Commission found that Innoscience's currently manufactured and sold GaN power device products do not infringe Infineon's U.S. Patent Nos. 9,070,755 and 9,899,481, an outcome favorable to Innoscience.
However, the Commission also found two claims of the '481 patent valid and infringed — specifically by legacy products that Innoscience has already discontinued. Based on this finding, the ITC issued a limited exclusion order against those legacy products. While Infineon secured an infringement finding and an exclusion order, Innoscience noted that the order applies only to products no longer in production or sale and therefore does not affect its existing U.S. business. The Commission additionally declared the remaining four claims of the '481 patent invalid.
Germany: First-Instance Judgment for Infineon. In the European market, Infineon has asserted a total of three patents and one utility model against Innoscience before the Munich District Court I (Landgericht München I).
The first of these actions reached a first-instance judgment on August 1, 2025 (Case No. 21 O 13132/24), with the Munich court finding that certain Innoscience products infringed Infineon's German Patent No. DE 102014113465 B4. The court prohibited Innoscience from selling the relevant GaN products in Germany and ordered Innoscience to pay damages.
Trials concerning a second patent and the utility model were scheduled for June 2026, according to Infineon's announcements. As of this publication, no results have yet been publicly disclosed. A third patent asserted by Infineon remains pending before the Munich court, with trial dates yet to be announced.
A Fragmented Battle Points to Possible Settlement
The global patent litigation between Innoscience and Infineon has produced different outcomes across three major jurisdictions. Industry observers note that neither party has been able to secure a complete exclusion of the other from the global market through any single jurisdiction. Given this fragmented landscape and the high costs of multi-jurisdictional litigation, a cross-licensing settlement between the two companies remains a possibility worth watching.
