Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 29, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

12.  Commitments and Contingencies

Patent Litigation

On May 13, 2012, MaxLinear, Inc., a Delaware corporation, filed a lawsuit against the Company in the United States District Court in the Southern District of California, San Diego Division, seeking a declaratory judgment that MaxLinear products do not infringe 19 Silicon Laboratories’ patents and that such patents are invalid. The Company responded and filed claims accusing MaxLinear of infringing 6 Silicon Laboratories’ patents, including 5 of the named 19 Company patents and an additional patent.  On September 14, 2012, a preliminary injunction motion was filed by the Company seeking to enjoin MaxLinear from infringing U.S. Patent 7,200,364 by making, using, offering to sell, selling or importing the MxL601 Hybrid Tuner in the U.S. or inducing others to make, use, offer to sell, sell, or import the MxL601 or devices incorporating the MxL601 in the U.S.  The Company also has asked the Court for a permanent injunction stopping the sale of all allegedly infringing MaxLinear products.

On July 30, 2012, the Company further filed a complaint for declaratory judgment against MaxLinear in United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division. The Company is seeking an order that MaxLinear’s United States Patent Nos. 7,362,178, 7,778,613 and 8,198,940 are invalid, and that the Company’s products do not infringe such patents.

On July 17, 2012, the Company additionally filed a lawsuit against MaxLinear in the United States District Court in the Southern District of California, San Diego Division, alleging infringement of an additional Company patent, U.S. Patent 7,035,607 related to RF design.  On August 6, 2012, MaxLinear counterclaimed alleging infringement of the three patents in the Texas litigation by a variety of the Company’s RF and mixed signal products.

At this time, the Company cannot predict the outcome of these matters or the resulting financial impact to it, if any.

Other

The Company is involved in various other legal proceedings that have arisen in the normal course of business. While the ultimate results of these matters cannot be predicted with certainty, the Company does not expect them to have a material adverse effect on its consolidated financial statements.