Herb Greenberg comments on the suit
-- Such timing!: Iomega filed a patent infringement suit against Fremont-based Syquest yesterday, claiming that it's infringing on several patents including the name ``Jet'' which is used in Syquest's SyJet portable drive. Syquest has been attempting a turnaround, and the SyJet has received rave reviews.
The SyJet competes head to head with Iomega's Jaz, which according to several items here has had an unusual number of failures. Syquest President Ed Harper says the suit is without merit, and wonders whether Iomega is merely trying to bully Syquest, just as his company is about to launch a major advertising and marketing campaign. ``We think this is an attempt by Iomega to move the battle from the marketplace to the courtroom,'' he says.
Adding to the intrigue: Syquest Chairman Ed Marinaro says Iomega didn't follow the usual protocol of first trying to settle the claims informally. ``If you're really serious, first you send a letter,'' he says. ``We read about it first on our Bloomberg.''
Is this suit really in reaction to Syquest's hiring of two former Iomega execs, or its hiring of a marketing company run by Paul Losee, one of Iomega's founders? If the Jaz doesn't have problems and the SyJet isn't a competitive threat, why bother filing a suit? Will this saga never end |
