The US International Trade Commission (ITC) yesterday slapped a ban on Mitac over chips used in a gizmo that lets you know where you are.

The Taipei Times said shares in Mitac fell on the Taipei bourse after the ITC ruling, which said that chip supplier SiRF Technology breached US patents.

The chips are used in Mitac's GPS devices, but most sales of these are to Europe, so the firm put a brave face on the ruling. In any case, the newspaper reported, the ban won't come into place until February next year and SiRF has appealed against the decision. X