STMicroelectronics should persuade Ericsson that they sell off their mobile chip joint venture ST-Ericsson, but probably to some aspiring Chinese company. That is likely to produce the quickest and most profitable - or least loss-making - exit for the two parent companies from what has become a failed project.

STMicroelectronics has secured the business of Apple, supplying MEMS for its iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches, as well as the business of Sony. InvenSense, however, has about 70% market share for Google Android-based smartphones.

The US Supreme Court left intact a ruling that lets Tessera Technologies seek damages from Qualcomm and four other companies for infringing patents covering computer-chip packaging.

The semiconductor market likely is bottoming, the chief executive of STMicroelectronics said, with conditions expected to improve in the coming weeks and months.

Americans put the brakes on purchases of LCD TVs and other electronics this summer. That didn't help manufacturers like 3M Co. - which rely on those expensive goods to drive their business.

STMicroelectronics is closing one of its semiconductor R&D groups in Longmont, Colo., and laying off 44 people, according to a report by a Colorado newspaper.

STMicroelectronics fell the most in a decade in Paris trading after CEO Carlo Bozotti said there will be a "correction" in sales and gross margin in the third quarter because of difficulties at customer Nokia.

STMicroelectronics and CMP (Circuits Multi Projets) have announced that the CMOS 28nm process from STMicroelectronics is now available for prototyping to universities, research labs and companies through the silicon brokerage services provided by CMP.

STMicroelectronics plans to significantly increase its MEMS production capacity to more than 3 million sensors a day by the end of 2011 to sustain exploding demand.

Accelerometers and gyroscopes didn't attract much consumer notice until they found their way into smartphones. STMicroelectronics CEO Carlo Bozotti believes this business, known as MEMS, will soon generate 10% of the company's revenues.

STMicroelectronics, Europe's largest chipmaker, fell the most in six weeks in Milan trading after saying second-quarter sales will be held back by a decline at its joint venture with Ericsson. Dubbed ST- Ericsson, the venture is completing a shift to a new lineup targeting smartphone and tablet markets.

STMicroelectronics, Europe's largest chipmaker, fell the most in five months in Milan trading after the company's ST-Ericsson wireless venture reported increased losses in the fourth quarter.

Shares of Tessera Technologies, which owns and makes money licensing numerous patents for combing computer chips together, are up 7% at US$22.09 after an appeals court ruled in favor of the company in its suit against Qualcomm, Spansion and STMicroelectronics.

Rambus is giving out another round of subpoenas to all of its friends in the tech industry. Most interesting among the defendants perhaps is Nvidia, who only months ago signed a licensing agreement with Rambus to end an ITC blockade of its products.

Over the past five years, ST has reduced the size of MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes from more than 500mm3 to less than 10mm3 while increasing resolution, accuracy, temperature stability and reducing power consumption by a factor 10.

Apple, HTC and RIM was sued by patent holder St. Clair Intellectual Property Consultants for alleged infringement of six U.S. patents for computer-function management.

European chipmaker STMicroelectronics has reported higher-than-expected net profits for the third quarter, and said sales would expand in the final three months of the year. STM's results follow recent upbeat earnings reports from Intel and ASML.

Two Russian tech companies, preparing to launch domestic microchip production in partnership with STMicroelectronics, are lobbying the state to ban imports of similar products, according to local newspapers.

Automobile demand in Japan and elsewhere has outpaced chip supplies from STMicroelectronics, a Hitachi spokesman said, adding that Nissan had not asked Hitachi for compensation for the disruption.

Despite losses at ST-Ericsson, STMicroelectronics' revenues for the second quarter of 2010 totaled US$2.531 billion, up 8.9% sequentially and 27% on year. ST reported net profits of US$356 million for the quarter, compared to profits of US$57 million in the prior quarter and losses of US$318 million in the year-ago period.

Hitachi's delay in supplying electronic controls to Nissan was caused by STMicroelectronics' failure to meet a microchip order.

IBM, Samsung and Globalfoundries are working with STMicroelectronics to develop and standardize advanced, 28nm process technology to ensure consistent production worldwide for electronics and device manufacturers.

STMicroelectronics said it plans to hire more workers to expand one of its two plants in China, defying higher operating costs as the government orders companies to increase employee pay.

STMicroelectronics is to provide the University with digital multimedia and advanced analog chips, expert support and advanced design tools, and jointly cooperate on applications engineering projects assigned by ST to the University. ST will also donate one million yuan (US$147,100) to the Graduate School each year for five years.

STMicroelectronics will be ready to tape out designs using a 20nm CMOS low power process technology in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to company CTO Jean-Marc Chery.

STMicroelectronics could make some analog ICs on 300mm wafers at its Crolles-2 wafer fab near Grenoble, France, according to CEO Carlo Bozotti.

The first ASIC prototypes implemented in ST's 32LPH (low-power high-performance) process technology are expected early in 2011 with production ramp-up in the second half of 2011.

Professor Peter Denyer, a pioneer of CMOS imaging sensor technology for cameras, died of cancer on April 22.

Micron Technology has completed its acquisition of Numonyx in an all stock transaction valued at approximately US$1.2 billion.

STMicroelectronics, Europe's largest semiconductor company, swung to profits of US$57 million in the first quarter of 2010 from losses of US$541 million a year ago. First-quarter revenues rose 40% to US$2.32 billion, led particularly by demand for chips used in cars and computers.

Avago Technologies has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against STMicroelectronics, alleging that certain STMicroelectronics products infringe four of Avago's patents covering optical navigation technology.

STMicroelectronics has joined the new industry/research multi-partner program IMAGINE, led by CEA-Leti, which includes TSMC, for mask-less lithography for IC manufacturing.

3D integration investments continue unabated despite the economic downturn, according to analysts from Yole Developpement and TechSearch International.

This project seeks to optimize the patterning process from design to manufacturing, extend characterization tools and methods to develop new correction and compensation techniques for reducing variability. The project will also explore lithography options for manufacturing complex chips at sub-30nm nodes.

Even if the STMicroelectronics assignment would be large enough to keep the utilization up far enough, it would not suffice to guarantee the company's competitiveness. But, as Buddha said: Every journey begins with the first step.

Globalfoundries has announced a strategic customer relationship with STMicroelectronics.