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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.'"

47 of 202 comments (clear)

  1. Almost content-less article by tygt · · Score: 2, Informative

    Unfortunately TFA has nearly zero content other than what the synopsis states. There is no mention of which patents are involved, any reaction by the companies being sued, and no statement given as to WTF it's all about.

    1. Re:Almost content-less article by gstoddart · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Unfortunately TFA has nearly zero content other than what the synopsis states. There is no mention of which patents are involved, any reaction by the companies being sued, and no statement given as to WTF it's all about.

      Indeed. I read both of TFAs, and I can't find a single mention of what aspect of drives is meant to have been infringed.

      Surely they don't have a patent on the idea of an "external device which acts as storage" or removable media ... I should think the floppy drive or any number of items would be sufficient prior art for that.

      Does anyone know the basis for these suits? They've sued everyone, but the details are very sketchy.

      Cheers
      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:Almost content-less article by Intron · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm guessing it's number 5,602,987 which was struck down in 2003 when they sued others and reversed on appeal more recently.

      --
      Intron: the portion of DNA which expresses nothing useful.
    3. Re:Almost content-less article by ThosLives · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If that's the one, it should be shot down again due to recent SCOTUS rulings: all the items in that patent simply do what anyone with knowledge of those components expects them to do when you put them together; you're just using memory as memory, and you're keeping track of how much you use so you don't use things too much.

      Nothing non-obvious about that.

      Now, if there's a particular wear-leveling algorithm, then that could be patentable, but the the general idea should not be.

      --
      "There are a dozen opinions on a matter until you know the truth. Then there is only one." - CS Lewis (paraprhase)
    4. Re:Almost content-less article by spazoid12 · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's true, but it's necessary. Posting stories with actual detail has been patented and they don't want to be sued for infringing...

    5. Re:Almost content-less article by pravuil · · Score: 3, Informative

      The way it looks it probably is the problem. From their corporate section they claim the following:

      SanDisk currently has approximately 780 issued U.S. patents, and more than 400 foreign patents, and is the only company, worldwide, that has the rights to both manufacture and sell every major flash card format , including CompactFlash®, SD(TM), miniSD(TM), microSD(TM), MultiMediaCard(TM), Reduced Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC(TM) ), Memory Stick PRO(TM) and related Memory Stick® products, xD-Picture Card(TM) and USB flash drives.

      Their claim seems pretty broad. It's hard to tell what's going on until they present their argument.

    6. Re:Almost content-less article by tepples · · Score: 3, Informative

      Was it obvious to combine them? we're talking 1993 here. The PCMCIA defined PC Card, including a standardized ATA-like interface to solid-state memory cards, in 1991. Reserving spare sectors for use when existing sectors have failed had been standard practice in ATA hard disks by 1993. What elements do you suggest were combined non-obviously?
  2. Funny thing is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...that around here (Sweden) SanDisk has always been considered as a cheapish manifacturer of questionable quality.

    1. Re:Funny thing is... by ericrost · · Score: 3, Informative

      Not just around Sweden. Same holds true in the US.

      --
      My Babylon
    2. Re:Funny thing is... by KeepQuiet · · Score: 3, Informative

      I agree and they have the crappiest customer service ever. I had a sandisk mp3 player which died for no apparent reason. I emailed customer service that saying that I cannot turn on the player. They replied "Can you please turn on the player and tell me what version number do you see?" Note to self: avoid Sandisk.

    3. Re:Funny thing is... by FatMacDaddy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I know what you mean, but it's not funny. In fact, it makes perfect sense. If SCO were producing valuable software they probably never would have gone off on their anti-Linux litigation. Same with these guys: if they were burning up the market with quality products, they wouldn't have to be suing others. I guess successful companies keep patents as a defense and lesser companies use them to keep their outdated business models or revenue streams going.

      --
      This space intentionally left blank.
    4. Re:Funny thing is... by anagama · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Interesting? What a bunch of crap U3 is. I recently bought a 4gb USB device -- says on the back it works w/ Max/Linux/Windows. When I stuck it in my powerbook, I get the drive plus a "CD" with three installers on it. Ok I thought, I'll just reformat. Didn't fix it. So I decided I'd use a linux box to reformat -- can't do it. The partition looks like a read-only CD-ROM. After some googling, it turns out there is a program from U3 to eliminate this fake CD partition -- of course the crap only works with windows. I don't have a windows box -- I tried fixing it on a friends machine, he has parallels and XP, but the damn thing wouldn't even mount on the windows box. Somewhere between my friend's office and mine, I lost the USB device. I lost the USB device because I hadn't put it on my key ring. I didn't put in my keyring because the U3 crap made the device perform annoyingly.

      The U3 developers are retards. The highest demand to remove their crap is probably from non-windows users. So they go and release a windows only removal solution. I had never heard of U3 before and I hope they die a slow painful death in bankruptcy.

      --
      What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
  3. *looks at san disk cards* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They've been fast, reliable, and not terribly expensive...

    Shame I'm not buying another SanDisk after this.

    1. Re:*looks at san disk cards* by DigitAl56K · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Shame I'm not buying another SanDisk after this.

      Really? Why?

      Every time someone tries to enforce a patent claim people make these knee-jerk statements.

      If their claims are legitimate and based on genuinely innovative technology, and they're also working in good faith to make reasonable licensing deals with infringers, then maybe you should be boycotting the parties being sued for infringing with no license instead.

      The patent system is wildly abused, but some times it does protect innovators that drive the industry forward. It would seem to me that SanDisk does at least ship a boatload of products using the technology that they (claim to) have developed, and are not simply acting as a patent licensing business.

    2. Re:*looks at san disk cards* by IgnoramusMaximus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The patent system is wildly abused, but some times it does protect innovators that drive the industry forward.

      No it doesn't. Patents have nothing to do with "driving industry forward". Remove patents and the competetive pressures remain unchanged, which is what drives innovation. And you cannot prove otherwise. Progress existed long before patents were even thought of.

      Or you mean you are spouting an item of industrialist faith, upon which the utterly misguided idea of patents is based, without any proof whatsoever that it is indeed the case, as it were an established fact.

      In fact patents do far more harm to progress then they bring merit to it, and that is before one factors in the current patent system corruption.

    3. Re:*looks at san disk cards* by tepples · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So, by voting with your wallet in the way you have described, you are choosing to support companies that steal the inventions of others rather than the company that innovated? Voting with one's wallet expresses one's view that the USPTO should never have approved the patent given the state of the art at the time the inventor applied for the patent.
    4. 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.

  4. Umm.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful
    From the summary:

    MacWorld notes if Sandisk succeeds it could have repercussions outside of the courtroom
    Not to nitpick or anything, but that's a really pointless statement. Court decisions always have repercussions outside of the courtroom. There wouldn't be much point to having court decisions if they didn't.

    "The court has decided that the patents are valid and the defendant must refrain from distributing products that implement the patented technology. But only inside this courtroom, of course. Out in the real world you can do whatever you want... Have a nice day."
    1. Re:Umm.... by kidcharles · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think this phrase is to make a distinction between a case which would set an important precedent versus one that would not. If a case does not establish a new precedent, it would change little "outside of the courtroom," i.e. it would not effect much outside of those involved in the case directly. If I go to court to contest a parking ticket and I still have to pay, nothing is happening "outside the courtroom." If I contest a parking ticket and it sets in motion a series of decisions saying that parking tickets are unconstitutional, there would be a profound effect "outside the courtroom."

      --
      Ceci n'est pas une sig.
    2. Re:Umm.... by Arguendo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      MacWorld notes if Sandisk succeeds it could have repercussions outside of the courtroom Not to nitpick or anything, but that's a really pointless statement. Court decisions always have repercussions outside of the courtroom. There wouldn't be much point to having court decisions if they didn't.

      Actually, not to further nitpick or anything, but most patent suits don't end in court decisions; they end in settlements. And settlements don't typically have much effect outside of courtrooms. (Unless it's a truly massive settlement - but even the RIM/Blackberry settlement didn't really affect consumers.)

      If Sandisk is very successful and an injunction issues, then that could have a much bigger impact outside the courtroom than if money simply changes hands. My point is simply that a lot of different things could happen to resolve the suit. Some results would affect us all, some would probably only affect the defendants' earnings.

  5. So hard to read the summary without crying. by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 2, Informative

    MacWorld notes if Sandisk succeeds it could have repercussions outside of the courtroom.

    Any case that does not have repercussions outside of the courtroom is worthless. What point is the submitter trying to make?

    --
    Your ad here. Ask me how!
  6. Press Release by bazald · · Score: 4, Informative

    The official press release is here:
    http://www.sandisk.com/Corporate/PressRoom/PressReleases/PressRelease.aspx?ID=4025

    Is it public what patents they are suing over yet? There seem to be no real details anywhere...

    --
    Insert self-referential sig here.
  7. The List by urcreepyneighbor · · Score: 5, Informative

    SanDisk is suing: ACP-EP Memory, A-Data, Apacer, Behavior Computer (d/b/a Emprex), Buffalo, Chipsbank, Corsair Memory, Dane-Elec, Edge, Imation/Memorex, Interactive Media (d/b/aKanguru), Kaser, Kingston, LG Electronics, Phison Electronics, PNY, PQI, Silicon Motion, Skymedi, Transcend, TSR (d/b/a T.One), USBest, Verbatim, Welldone Company, and Zotek/Zodata (d/b/a Huke).
    --
    "The fight for freedom has only just begun." - Geert Wilders
    1. Re:The List by oyenstikker · · Score: 3, Informative
      Come on dude, make a list.
      • ACP-EP Memory
      • A-Data
      • Apacer
      • Behavior Computer (d/b/a Emprex)
      • Buffalo
      • Chipsbank
      • Corsair Memory
      • Dane-Elec
      • Edge
      • Imation/Memorex
      • Interactive Media (d/b/aKanguru)
      • Kaser
      • Kingston
      • LG Electronics
      • Phison Electronics
      • PNY
      • PQI
      • Silicon Motion
      • Skymedi
      • Transcend, TSR (d/b/a T.One), USBest
      • Verbatim
      • Welldone Company
      • Zotek/Zodata (d/b/a Huke)
      --
      The masses are the crack whores of religion.
  8. I hope this isn't the first step... by Overzeetop · · Score: 3, Insightful
    FTFA:

    Our goal is to resolve these matters by offering the defendants the opportunity to participate in our patent licensing program for card and system technology," said E. Earle Thompson, chief intellectual property counsel at SanDisk I certainly hope there's been some serious negotiation leading up to this. Otherwise, that's quite a dickish statement to make.
    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    1. Re:I hope this isn't the first step... by stevesliva · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I can't imagine anything is going to happen here, especially against powerhouses like Corsair, Kingston, and PNY.
      What's especially surprising is that the company suing, SanDisk, actually manufactures things. Usually the plaintiff is not involved in manufacturing products that could be alleged to infringe upon the patents owned by the defendant. Expect to see several of these companies to countersue... they should be able to find some vague patents in their portfolios to throw back at SanDisk.
      --
      Who do you get to be an expert to tell you something's not obvious? The least insightful person you can find? -J Roberts
  9. Wow by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 2, Funny

    Are these guys getting legal advice from Darl McBride?

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  10. Re:Great by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "We will continue to grow in this market, despite a 25-fold increase in competition. How? We will just demand that the competition pay us for the privilege to compete with us. What's that? Increase in our stock price?"

    --
    Palm trees and 8
  11. 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?

    1. Re:Note who is not being sued.... by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They probably either buy chips from SanDisk, or they have a license deal with SanDisk.

      --
      Palm trees and 8
    2. Re:Note who is not being sued.... by rattlesoft · · Score: 2, Insightful

      From SanDisk press release: "SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is one of the world's largest suppliers of flash data storage card products, using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology." See this is the main reason why our patent system is completely messed up. If you patent flash memory technology, you shouldn't have the right to stop all other companies from making similar products. Wheres the fair market? In this case, it looks like the common saying "Any publicity is good publicity", won't work for San Disk. Their products have never been jaw-dropping or even cheap.

    3. Re:Note who is not being sued.... by farker+haiku · · Score: 5, Funny

      it's called the "Our lawyers can kick your lawyers ass" deal.

      --
      Your sig(k) has been stolen. There is a puff of smoke!
    4. Re:Note who is not being sued.... by rnswebx · · Score: 5, Insightful

      See this is the main reason why our patent system is completely messed up. If you patent flash memory technology, you shouldn't have the right to stop all other companies from making similar products. Wheres the fair market?
      Hmm, what? Our patent system is certainly flawed, but your argument is exactly what patents are for. If I develop a way to do something that hasn't been done before, then you either need to figure a new way to do it or license my technology. Maybe we disagree on the underlying idea that I should be able to prevent people/companies from simply copying an idea, using their big bank accounts to market it into oblivion, and eventually making fortunes off of my invention. I like patents, as long as the idea is actually new and the technology is not obvious. PS: I don't know what SanDisk's lawsuit is based on as the articles seem to be light on details, so I can't really comment to this particular case.
  12. Details? by Bent+Mind · · Score: 2, Interesting
    The second link in the summery offers a bit more information than the first link. However, both are missing details. It sounds like SanDisk is suing anyone who uses or interfaces with flash memory. The quote in the article seemed strange to me:

    Our goal is to resolve these matters by offering the defendants the opportunity to participate in our patent licensing program for card and system technology. Otherwise, we will aggressively pursue these actions, seeking a prompt judicial resolution awarding damages, obtaining injunctive relief and banning importation of infringing product. I thought they were suppose to attempt to collect license fees before they sued.

    The Yahoo/PC Magazine article seems to be cut off at the end. It stops at "for infringement of five SanDisk patents, including:".
    --
    Request a Linux Shockwave player here: http://www.macromedia.com/support/email/wishform/
  13. 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"
    1. Re:They waited ALL these years.... by TheNinjaroach · · Score: 4, Informative

      Doesn't patent-enforcement and claims for damages, etc, require ongoing, active enforcement? No, the active enforcement requirement applies to trademarks, not to patents.
      --
      I went to eat some animal crackers and the box said, "Do not eat if seal is broken." I opened the box and sure enough..
  14. 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.

  15. SanDisk bought m-Systems, now sues by postbigbang · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Patent litigation is the last gasp of the shnook. Time to change the batter (CEO).

    They couldn't make their MP3 players do very well, the flash drive market is in no-margin-land, and so how do you boost revenue. Hey, Ernie-- we got any patents from that Israeli company we bought a coupla years ago? There's gotta be some money in that stuff.......

    --
    ---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
  16. 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.

  17. Re:It's times like these... by Fred_A · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... that make me wonder why I didn't study Law. (Oh -- I remember now... it's 'cos I have a soul... ) That's not a problem, as a law student you would have been entitled to a free soulectomy.
    --

    May contain traces of nut.
    Made from the freshest electrons.
  18. What Goes Around Comes Around by segedunum · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I'm not defending SanDisk, but given that they were dubiously halted from showing a bunch of MP3 players in Germany not too long ago, it's probably not unreasonable for them (and their lawyers) to think "Well, maybe it could work for us as well!":

    "Our goal is to resolve these matters by offering the defendants the opportunity to participate in our patent licensing program for card and system technology," said E. Earle Thompson, chief intellectual property counsel at SanDisk, in a statement.

    I also find it humorously ironic that if this works, it could result in the US missing out and not being able to get certain products, or at least needlessly paying more for them.
  19. Ah yes, U3... by Moryath · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Seriously now: a nonfunctional "password protect" bit that could be bypassed with near "hold the shift key" ease, a "program installer" that never worked for anything nontrivial, AND you had to find an arcane little page on their website just to get the uninstaller to make your "U3" device behave like a normal fucking memory stick.

    Yeah, it was "interesting" in the same way that a colonoscopy is.

    Oh well. It could be worse - their competitors (Sony) put rootkits into everything.

  20. Just uninstall U3 by Billly+Gates · · Score: 2, Interesting

    http://www.mydigitallife.info/2006/09/11/disable-remove-and-uninstall-u3-launchpad/

    Directions are listed above and I can't stand U3. I agree with Sans disk that is retarded to have programs on Windows dependent on the registry which means you can't run the same apps anywhere but U3 is a bad way to fix this.

    Infact U3 is a security bug as you can't just delete it and it installs itself automatically as a driver. U3 installs itself with autoplay automatically and even after delete the program off the drive. Its like the movie click where Adam Sandler throws out the remote yet it keeps reappearing on his body.

    --
    http://saveie6.com/
  21. Patents should be eliminated by mlwmohawk · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Patents were originally for the encouragement of scientific advancement and innovation for a fledgling nation. We are now in a position where the very mechanism we put in place to help us is harming us.

    Patents no longer encourage innovation, they destroy it. Unless the U.S.A. wants to continue its disastrous economic slide, it had better do something pretty quickly. HUGE international companies with no economic loyalty or tax revenue to the U.S.A. are seeking to prevent american companies from doing business.

    Maybe patents have some value for the truly "non-trivial" things, but everything I've seen and heard the last few years is that mainly trivial landmine and submarine patents are getting approved because they are flooding the patent office.

    The patent examiners are no longer guarding against bogus patents, the work load is too high, the pressure to allow patents is too high, and they are relying on the courts to do their job.

    1. Re:Patents should be eliminated by mlwmohawk · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Patents increase the rate of technological advancement

      This is provably false in the current international economic state, it is IP lawyer dogma.

      The patent system was intended to be sort of a shopping gallery for people with ideas to link up with people with capital so that industry could be born.

      These days, almost no business is started patent first, patents only come after the fact as "protection" from other patents.

      The modern engineer and scientist almost *NEVER* looks at patents, therefor the supposed "obviousness" they are supposed convey is a fiction. They hinder innovation by allowing trivial and obvious techniques developed by matter of course by those skilled in the art to cancel truly innovative inventions.

  22. Re:Great by MBraynard · · Score: 2, Insightful
    When you create a technology (Sandisk own the creator of nonvolitile SSM) and then 26 other companies start to rip off your technology without a license, that is only referred to as competition in Slashdotland.

    You will notice that Apple, MS, Creative, etc. are not on the list. They compete against Sandisk but somehow found out how to legally.

  23. Re:Fuck SanDisk by mgblst · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So, you are not interested in more details? Just straight away, fuck em?

    There are some legitimate reasons to go down this path, you realise? Not everything is as obvious as the Amazon one-click patent, or the guy who patented swinging on a tire.