CUPERTINO, California – June 24, 2013 – A judge at the US International Trade commission has signed off on a settlement dismissing Dell Inc. from the ITC’s CORE Flash Portfolio patent infringement investigation. Dell and TPL have also filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in parallel litigation in Texas federal court.
Combined, the two settlements will allow Dell an early exit from the litigation against it, initiated by TPL to protect the investments of the CORE Flash licensee community. The successful CORE Flash Licensing Program has been dramatically enhanced with aggressive enforcement activities — including the filing of two separate waves of patent infringement complaints with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) and US District Court against nearly 40 companies in the past two years.
Exclusion orders, and cease and desist orders were issued by the ITC as a result of the first wave of complaints filed against infringing products of respondents Nextar Inc. of La Verne, California, WinAccord Ltd. of Taipei, Taiwan and WinAccord USA, Inc. of San Jose, California, Aiptek International Inc. of Hsinchu, Taiwan, and Pandigital, Inc. of Dublin, California.
In the second wave of complaints, filed in March 2012 with the ITC and the District Court in the Eastern District of Texas 21 companies were named, including Acer, Brother, Canon, Dane-Elec Memory, Dell, Falcon Northwest Computer Systems, Fujitsu, Jasco, Hewlett-Packard, HiTi Digital, Kingston Technology, Lexar Media, Microdia, Newegg, Sabrent, Samsung, Seiko Epson, Shuttle, and Systemax.
On April 27, 2012, the ITC voted again to institute an investigation of certain computer and computer peripheral devices and components. The products at issue in this investigation are laptop and desktop computers and computer peripheral devices with media card readers such as monitors and printers. The trial at the ITC was held earlier this year and the parties await the Commission’s initial determination, which is due later this summer. Many companies purchased licenses during the course of the investigation, including Samsung, Micron, Panasonic and Fujitsu – eleven companies remain in the case – which will proceed to district court following the conclusion of the ITC Investigation.
About the CORE Flash Portfolio
The CORE Flash Portfolio contains intellectual property that was developed and productized by The TPL Group’s OnSpec Division, and includes over forty patents and applications worldwide. CORE Flash Portfolio innovations protect key aspects of flash memory management and control, including the software, firmware, hardware, and mechanical designs used in many of today’s consumer electronics devices such as digital still cameras, camcorders, TVs, computers and printers capable of reading multiple types of flash memory cards.
About Alliacense
Alliacense is the recognized leader in the design and execution of Intellectual Property (IP) licensing programs. As a cadre of IP licensing strategists, technology experts, and experienced business development/management executives, Alliacense focuses on expanding the awareness and value of IP portfolios under management, and providing a peerless array of outsourcing capabilities that enhance the effectiveness of IP organizations worldwide. For more information, visit www.alliacense.com.
CORE Flash is a trademark of Alliacense.
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Alliacense Contact: Tina Gutierrez, 408-446-4222