TriQuint files infringement suit against Avago

According to the lawsuit, filed July 23 in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Avago has been contacting TriQuint customers and advising them that TriQuint's products infringe on at least four Avago patents.

Avago also told customers that it has not licensed its patents to any competitors and that if customers purchase certain RF products from suppliers other than Avago, they will not be protected against Avago's patents, according to the filing.

TriQuint's suit seeks, among other things, a decleration that four patents held by Avago are invalid and that TriQuint products do not infringe them. The suit also seeks damages paid to TriQuint by Avago for the alleged infringement of three patents held by TriQuint.

Avago has not yet filed an answer to the complaint, according to TriQuint.

TriQuint (Hillsboro, Ore.) revealed the existence of the suit in a 10-Q filing made Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The suit was first reported Wednesday by Filing Watch, a semiconductor-industry focused publication of Parallel Semiconductor LLC. Parallel Semiconductor is a provider of technology and IP services based in Phoenix.