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SanDisk Sues 25 Companies for Patent Infringement

Posted by Zonk on from the who-isn't-sue-happy-nowadays dept.

dnormant writes "Suits have been filed against 25 companies by the SanDisk corporation this week, as the company looks to stop businesses from shipping products it alleges are infringing on its work. SanDisk has filed suits against everyone from MP3 player manufacturers to USB hard drive creators. The list of defendants is staggering, and MacWorld notes if Sandisk succeeds it could have repercussions outside of the courtroom. 'The company filed two lawsuits in the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin, one alleging the infringement of five patents in the ITC complaint, and another one including two additional patents not involved in the ITC action. The court and ITC complaints could affect the prices and availability of products made by companies targeted in the suit if SanDisk wins and the companies are barred from importing products into the U.S.'"

5 of 202 comments (clear)

  1. Note who is not being sued.... by jdgeorge · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A list of companies NOT named might be interesting, too. Among them are:
    Apple
    Samsung
    Micron/Lexar
    Sony

    Each of these seems to be a major player in these markets....

    What deals (if any) do these guys have with SanDisk so they aren't getting sued?

  2. They waited ALL these years.... by davidsyes · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Seems to me they FSCK'd up...

    Doesn't patent-enforcement and claims for damages, etc, require ongoing, active enforcement?

    Seems to me they waited all these years, found out they need a MAJOR cash infusion, and they see all these companies as an income stream. Kinda like lying in wait (yeh, the "victims" are aware there MAY be a trap around the bend, but are hoping no one is lurking...), hoping a court will rule in their favor.

    Looks like the "staggering(ly)" long list is a clue they are gold-digging.

    --
    Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
  3. Hardware patents by Isaac-Lew · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Have any of the the patent-bashers on here stopped to think that maybe *some* patents are valid (especially hardware)? After all, this is a company making actual physical products, not a patent troll or someone patenting software or a business product.

  4. They have patents of their own? by IvyKing · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I suspect that Apple, Samsung, Micron and Sony have quite a few patents of their own that could be used against SanDisk if SanDisk sued them, and supect the companies they are suing don't have much of a patent portfolio.


    Another possibility is that the companies not being sued have cross-licensing agreements in place with SanDisk.

  5. Re:*looks at san disk cards* by obarel · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Of course patents drive the industry forward.

    They motivate people to find alternatives to expensive yet ridiculously obvious "inventions", thus making huge progress in fields such as compression, encryption, search technologies etc.

    Not exactly the intent behind the system, but it seems to work pretty well. If GIF hadn't been patented, we wouldn't have PNG now.