Drexler Technology Warns Microsoft of Probable Patent Infringement
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 1998--Drexler Technology Corporation (NASDAQ:DRXR - news) has informed Microsoft
Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - news) that Microsoft's entry into the optical ROM card (OROM) market could probably lead to infringement of five of
Drexler's U.S. patents plus additional foreign counterpart patents.
Recent news stories and Web-site publications have disclosed Microsoft's plans for active participation in the optical ROM card market. Harel Kodesh,
general manager of the consumer appliance group at Microsoft, is quoted as saying, ''We expect the innovative OROM storage peripheral will have a
far-reaching impact on the way software and other content is distributed and used in compact portable devices and embedded systems.''
Joseph Quagliani, Microsoft's marketing manager for Windows CE operating systems, is quoted as saying Microsoft is backing this technology because
it ''enables a whole new range of devices. I expect this to be very widely deployed.''
Drexler's letter to Microsoft states that to resolve this matter promptly, Drexler is prepared to sell non-exclusive licenses for optical memory cards,
readers, and reader/writers on license terms and conditions normally offered to companies that have not infringed Drexler's patents.
In its advisory to Microsoft, Drexler Technology said that Microsoft's OROM (card) program could probably lead to the infringement of the following
Drexler Technology-owned patents:
1. U.S.P. 4,864,630 and a Canadian counterpart patent.
2. U.S.P. 4,634,850 and counterpart patents in France, Germany,
Sweden, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain,
and Israel.
3. U.S.P. 4,786,792.
4. U.S.P. B1 4,500,777 and counterpart patents in Japan,
Australia, Mexico, Spain, and Israel.
5. U.S.P. B1 4,544,835 and counterpart patents in Belgium,
Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Korea, Mexico, Spain, and
United Kingdom.
Drexler Technology has received optical-memory-card related patent license fees of over $35 million to date. Previously announced licensees that are
listed on U.S. stock exchanges include British Telecommunications (NYSE:BTY - news), Canon, Inc. (NASDAQ:CANNY - news), Hitachi Ltd. (NYSE:HIT -
news), and Matsushita Electric Industrial (NYSE:MC - news).
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