(Yicai) Feb. 28 -- Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit said it welcomed the verdict of a court in the United States that cleared the Chinese chipmaker of stealing trade secrets from Micron Technology.

More than five years after the US Department of Commerce blacklisted Fujian Jinhua on national security grounds, US District Judge Maxine M. Chesney told the court in San Francisco yesterday that the Chinese company was not guilty of “economic espionage” and that other criminal charges against it had not been established, Bloomberg New reported.

Fujian Jinhua said in a statement posted on its website today that the Jinjiang-based company has always operated within the law and respects intellectual property rights.

In December 2017, Micron sued Fujian Jinhua and United Microelectronics Corporation in a federal court in California, alleging that UMC stole its intellectual property through collusion with Micron employees in Taiwan. The IP included key DRAM technology, and was delivered to Fujian Jinhua, Micron alleged.

In October 2018, the Department of Commerce announced the placing of export controls on Fujian Jinhua on national security grounds, adding it to the so-called Entity List that bars exports to certain companies.

On Nov. 1, 2018, the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California filed a criminal complaint against Fujian Jinhua and UMC for conspiracy to steal Micron’s trade secrets.

Editor: Tom Litting