Tariff Act / Section 337
ITC opens patent case over NAND and DRAM chip imports
MonolithIC 3D says Kioxia and SK hynix products infringe five patents. The case covers NAND and DRAM chips plus finished goods that contain them.
The U.S. International Trade Commission has opened a Section 337 case over NAND and DRAM memory chips. If the complainant wins, import restrictions could follow for the chips and the devices that use them.
- The ITC has opened Investigation No. 337-TA-1506.
- The case covers NAND and DRAM chips, plus products containing them.
- MonolithIC 3D names five patents in the complaint.
- Import restrictions could follow if the commission finds a violation.
- Memory chips sit deep inside laptops, phones, servers and the gear that keeps data centers running, which is why a new patent fight at the U.S
Memory chips sit deep inside laptops, phones, servers and the gear that keeps data centers running, which is why a new patent fight at the U.S. International Trade Commission matters well beyond the companies named in it. MonolithIC 3D Inc. of Allen, Texas, says certain NAND and DRAM memory chips, along with products containing them, infringe five U.S. patents.
The commission has instituted Investigation No. 337-TA-1506 under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. That matters because this kind of case can end with import restrictions, not just money damages in court.
The chips and products named
The complaint covers 3D NAND memory chips, HBM DRAM memory chips and memory products containing them, including NAND flash, NAND storage products, solid-state drive (SSD) products and DRAM products. It was filed May 11, 2026, with supplements on May 28 and June 1.
MonolithIC 3D says the alleged violations involve claims in five patents. It also wants the commission to consider a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist orders, the remedies that can keep products out of the U.S. market or bar their sale after importation.
Where the pressure could land
For chip importers, device assemblers and electronics makers, the immediate effect is uncertainty rather than a price change today. But if the case advances and the commission eventually finds a violation, products containing the covered memory chips could face tighter access to the U.S. market.
That is the part downstream buyers watch most closely. The complaint also says a U.S. industry exists, or is in the process of being established, which is part of the showing needed in a Section 337 case. If the commission acts on the case, any remedy could reach both the imported chips and the finished products that contain them, spreading pressure from the original chip line to the devices that rely on it.