To: straight life who wrote (11123 ) 5/17/2000 5:26:00 PM From: Ausdauer Read Replies (3) | Respond to
Lexar has cost SanDisk $1.7 million in legal costs to date. In March 1998 we filed a complaint in federal court against Lexar Media, Inc. for infringement of one of our flash card patents. Lexar disputed this claim and asserted that our patent was invalid or unenforceable, as well as asserting various counterclaims including unfair competition, violation of the Lanham Act, patent misuse, interference with prospective economic advantage, trade defamation and fraud. We have denied all of these counterclaims. In July 1998, the court denied Lexar's request to have the case dismissed. Discovery in this suit began in August 1998. On February 22, 1999, the court considered arguments and papers submitted by the parties regarding the scope and proper interpretation of the asserted claims in our patent at issue in the Lexar suit. On March 4, 1999, the court issued its ruling on the proper construction of the claim terms in our patent. On July 30, 1999, we filed a motion for partial summary judgment that Lexar CompactFlash and PC Cards contributorily infringe our patent . Lexar filed a motion for summary judgement that our patent is invalid in view of prior art. A hearing on both of these motions was held on March 17, 2000 and on March 28, 2000 the court found that the accused Lexar flash cards contributarily infringed SanDisk's patent and granted SanDisk's motion for partial summary judgement . Additionally, the court denied Lexar's summary judgement motion for non-infringement and invalidity. A trial date has been set this matter in October 2000. sandisk.com the spectre of "willfull infringement" with its attendant punitive damages must loom large over Lexar. Will commonsense ever prevail?
