Chinese-Chipmaker-

YMTC, a Chinese chipmaker, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Micron.

Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) of China has sued Micron Technology of the United States, alleging infringement on eight of its patents.

In the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, YMTC filed a case against Micron and its subsidiary Micron Consumer Products Group on November 9.

According to the complaint, Micron used YMTC's proprietary technology to ward off YMTC competitors and achieve and maintain market share. It claimed that Micron was not paying its fair share for the usage of patented ideas.

"While we cannot discuss the specifics of pending litigation, I can confirm that YMTC recently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Micron Technology, Inc. for infringement of our company's patents related to the design, manufacture, and operation of 3D NAND technology," YMTC said in a statement provided to Reuters on Monday "We are confident that this matter will be resolved swiftly."

Micron did not reply beyond regular business hours in the United States.

Micron manufactures DRAM and NAND flash memory chips and competes with South Korean companies Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, as well as Japan's Kioxia, a Toshiba subsidiary. YMTC is a much smaller competitor that was forbidden from purchasing some American components by the US last year.

On security reasons, the United States has tightened restrictions on chipmaking technology exports to China in recent years.

Micron devices failed a network security examination in May, prompting China to prohibit key infrastructure operators from purchasing them.

2018 saw Micron embroiled in a legal battle with Fujian Jinhua, a Chinese state-backed chipmaker that was charged with—and refuted—stealing trade secrets. Later that year, China briefly outlawed the selling of its main products.

China used to be Micron's biggest market, contributing half of its $20 billion in revenue in the 2017 fiscal year. When DRAM operations in Shanghai were terminated in 2022, this percentage dropped to 16 percent.