Syntek Semiconductor Co. v. Microchip Technology Inc.

ORDER

The opinion filed April 8, 2002 appearing at 285 F.3d 857 (9th Cir.2002) is amended as follows:

With the opinion thus amended, the panel denies Syntek’s petition for rehearing.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

ORDER

The mandate issued on September 9, 2002 is hereby recalled.

The opinion filed April 8, 2002 appearing at 285 F.3d 857 (9th Cir.2002) is further amended as follows:

The mandate shall issue forthwith.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

OPINION

In this appeal, we consider whether a party may obtain a judgment declaring that a copyright registration owned by another is invalid. We conclude that, under the circumstances presented by this case, the doctrine of primary jurisdiction requires us to stay this action in order that the parties may pursue administrative remedies.

I

Both Syntek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (“Syntek”), a Taiwanese corporation, and Microchip Technology Inc. (“Microchip”), a Delaware corporation, design, manufacture, and sell microcontrollers. Microcon-trollers, occasionally referred to as microcomputers, are highly integrated circuits used to control a particular system or process in an electronic product. The operation of microcontrollers is dictated by low level…