Well... Looks like Flash IP just got a tad more expensive for Samsung, Toshiba, Numonyx, MU/Intel, et al... except Spansion... and maybe their partner Fujitsu:
Spansion files suit against Samsung, Apple, others
Mark LaPedus
EE Times
(11/17/2008 4:00 PM EST)
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Spansion Inc. has filed two separate flash-memory patent infringement complaints against Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and others with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and in the U.S. District Court in Delaware.
Although Korea's Samsung is the target of the complaints, Spansion (Sunnyvale, Calif.) has named the manufacturers of the downstream products in the ITC complaint. Companies named in the ITC case include Samsung, Apple, Asus, Kingston, Lenovo, PNY, RIM, Sony, Sony-Ericsson, Transcend, among others.
The Spansion patents named in these suits involve floating-gate technology in flash memory designs. In its NOR flash products, Spansion has implemented charge-trapping technology, which is expected to replace floating-gate technology in the future. Flash memory companies, including Samsung, have announced their plans to transition to charge-trapping in future products.
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The suits are ''seeking the exclusion from the U.S. market of well over one hundred million MP3 players, cell phones, digital cameras and other consumer electronic devices containing Samsung's infringing flash memory components,'' according to Spansion. 'The complaint in the U.S. District Court in Delaware also seeks an injunction and treble damages for patent violations relating to Samsung's flash memory.
eetimes.com
It had to happen, probably sooner rather than later, but man... talk about squeezing blood from a stone. I wonder if Toshiba, as a sister division of Japan, Inc is even fighting Spansion's claims? We'll know soon enough but in either case, this is no doubt going to send ripples accross the pond of the memory biz for the next year at least.
I don't know what kind of numbers Samsung is crunching, but unlike RMBS Spansion never attempted to "hide" the fact that they intended to enforce the IP they bought from Saifun. Samsung must have a plan to deal with this, but whatever it is, it certainly won't hurt their R&D on alternative NV memory IP.
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