(Yicai Global) Feb. 12 -- The patent infringement row between US-based Micron Technology and Chinese state-backed Jinhua Integrated Circuit does not stem from the two nations' trade tussle, according to an insider of the two countries' trade relations. 

The case has nothing to do with the intellectual property dispute between China and the US, a person close to the China-US trade talks told Yicai Global in an exclusive interview.

Amid brewing trade tensions, the US has gone by the book in its legal dealings. On Jan. 18, the US court rejected Micron's civil lawsuit against Jinhua because of flaws in its case files but allowed Idaho-based Micron to change its complaint before Feb. 8, court documents show. The plaintiff has not made it publicly know if such documents were delivered on time. 

In December 2017, Micron filed its civil action lawsuit against Jinhua and its partner United Microelectronics in Taiwan regarding the development of dynamic random access memory chips. Last October, the US added Jinhua to a list of companies with stricter rules on exports because it was about to begin mass-producing DRAM chips. After a month, the US Department of Justice unveiled an indictment against the two Chinese firms while accusing them of stealing IP from Micron.

It is certain that Micron will revise its complaint unless the two sides reach a compromise, but there is no sign of that in sight, Sun Yuanzhao, the executive director of the Asia Pacific Law Institute and a visiting professor at the Peking University, told Yicai Global.

The short-term effect of the case is that Jinhua has avoided patent litigation in the US, a person, who does not want to be named, said to Yicai Global. The long-term effect is that capital investors in the US do not need to consider too many factors beyond the law, the source added.

Patent infringement cases do not involve many political factors, a lawyer with over 20 years of experience in information technology mergers and acquisitions in the US told Yicai Global. Such cases will be ruled according to the law, but factors beyond the law cannot be completely ignored in terms of such cases' impact on investment, the lawyer added.

The impact on small-scale investment is small, but those larger investments with strategic significance won't escape repercussions, the law professional added.

Editor: Emmi Laine