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Technology Stocks : WDC/Sandisk Corporation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jason Rooks who wrote (20266)	5/10/2001 7:17:53 PM
From: Ausdauer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 60323

Jason, Jim, others... siliconinvestor.com You would think that legal proceedings would be the absolute last resort. Viking purportedly used an infringing Lexar controller, so either they will fight it out in court, or see whether Lexar Media will indemnify (?correct legal term), or simply drag their feet and purchase new Lexar (non-infringing) controllers. Then it will be up to SanDisk to determine how aggressively they will pursue this litigation. Meaningful negotiations to date would have produced a different end result than the legal proceedings announced today. What kind of legal fees is SanDisk willing to expend with the realization that Viking could elect to use a non-infringing controller and, for all intents and purposes, avoid ongoing royalties to SNDK? Aus

To: Jason Rooks who wrote (20266)	5/10/2001 9:57:19 PM
From: Ausdauer	Respond to of 60323

This is not how SanDisk usually operates. Viking Components Inc., one of the world's largest manufacturers of OEM and upgrade component technology, disagrees with the patent infringement claim made by SanDisk Corp. (Nasdaq: SNDK chart, msgs) filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco. Although Viking Components has not been served with SanDisk's complaint, Viking has contacted SanDisk inquiring as to the nature of the claim. siliconinvestor.com It would seem a bit out of character for SanDisk to offer a press release before the complaint was filed with a defendant. Just doesn't seem like Eli's standard operating procedure for issues such as these. Aus

To: Jason Rooks who wrote (20266)	8/13/2001 8:59:45 PM
From: Ausdauer	Respond to of 60323

Jason, any idea why this company news has been deleted from SI? Message 15784593 I wonder if SanDisk retracted this story for some reason? In any case it is still available on SanDisk's site... sandisk.com Notice that Viking has agreed to buy subsequent controllers from Lexar... siliconinvestor.com ...so one has to wonder if they settled with SanDisk for prior card sales. "We are competing in a market that requires us to provide a high-quality product with short lead times, so we must work with suppliers whose technology helps us keep our competitive edge," said Glenn McCusker, CEO of Viking Components. "We believe Lexar Media's non-infringing controller technology will allow us to consistently deliver products which exceed the performance, quality and reliability requirements of our customers." This licensing agreement further expands and formalizes a longstanding, bilateral business relationship enjoyed by Viking and Lexar Media. "We have been providing controllers to Viking for a number of years," said Eric Stang, Lexar Media president and CEO. "Technology licensing continues to be a strategic focus for our company and this relationship is a great example of a leading manufacturer seeing the benefits of integrating Lexar Media's technology." Lexar Media is indemnifying Viking in the lawsuit brought by SanDisk Corporation over Viking's sale of flash memory cards using Lexar Media's old controller. "Viking has migrated its products to Lexar Media's new controller which has been publicly recognized not to infringe others' patents and, of course, is licensed under Lexar Media's extensive patent portfolio," added Mr. Stang. I suspected that Lexar would be responsible for indemnifying its customers... siliconinvestor.com I see Viking as a fly in the ointment. They seem to have an inexhaustible supply of inexpensive flash wafer and the ability to mass produce CF in great quantities, while at the same time expressing little concern for retail pricing of items such as CompactFlash cards. Viking continues to drive down CF prices and has several bundled items with moderate capacity cards (32MB) on Amazon.com's website. This included the Canon S20 camera bundle and a Compaq IPaq handheld bundle. Aus