Applied Materials, ASM Settle Patent Suit

Applied Materials Inc. won $80 million from ASM International as part of a settlement of the companies’ long-running patent dispute. The two makers of semiconductor manufacturing equipment agreed to cross-license the disputed technology and not to sue each other for up to five years over patents for products that were commercially available July 1. The settlement protects Santa Clara-based Applied Materials’ rights to the technology and ends mediation that began after the U.S. Supreme Court in May let stand a lower-court ruling that Dutch-based ASM violated an Applied Materials patent. Applied Materials is the world’s largest provider of chip-making equipment. ASM also makes equipment used in manufacturing semiconductors and integrated circuits. The dispute involved a patent application by Applied Materials for a machine to process the wafers used to make computer chips. Applied Materials shares rose $2.69 to close at $36.06 on Nasdaq.