Syntek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. v. Microchip Technology Incorporated

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 dismissal of 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 cpntrol a particular system or process in an electronic product. The operation of microcontrollers is dictated by low level programming microinstructions called microcode, which are fixed in storage. Microchip manufactures and sells the PIC 16C5x microcontrollers, which contain the PIC 16C5x microcode at issue in this action. Syntek challenges the validity of Microchip’s U.S. copyright registration of the PIC 16C5x microcode.

The parties’ dispute began in 1992, when Microchip came to believe that Syntek had begun to make and sell unauthorized clones of…