>>SanDisk has acknowledged the Lexar workaround and has agreed not to pursue any measures that would remove Lexar's product from retail shelves even if further patent disputes were to erupt. Lexar is going to make money by selling controllers or licensing controller technology to competitors.<<
Aus, very comprehensive and thoughtful comments. What we know of the recent settlement agreement between LEXR and SNDK is that LEXR must pay royalties on any product using the '987 patent, starting last April 1. If LEXR sells anything using the '987 patent without paying royalties, they will be in violation of the agreement. Because this agreement had the approval of the court, SNDK could easily go after any violations.
As for LEXR licensing its controller technology, this, as you note, could be a source of income, but so far Lexar has not been able to generate any profits. And even the controller technology is limited by the extent to which it is superior to that of SanDisk. We know that the LEXR controller seems to work faster in a Nikon, but it may not have much advantage in other cameras. I haven't seen any recent comparison data with other cameras, and if anyone knows of RECENT data, that would be helpful.
The pop corn analogy is a good one. Maybe SanDisk will be in a position to advertise a bigger pop for the money, or a bigger pop in a smaller package (MMC or SDMC).
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