Western Digital owes $262 mln in hard-drive patent case, jury says
Corrects description and spelling of MR Technologie in paragraphs 1-2 and the case caption
By Blake Brittain
July 30 (Reuters) -Data-storage giant Western Digital WDC.O violated an Austrian physicist's patent rights and owes the owner of his patentsmore than $262 million in damages, a jury in California federal court has determined.
The jury said on Friday, in a verdict made public on Tuesday, that Western Digital should pay MR Technologie more than $262.3 million for infringing two of Dieter Suess'patents related to technology that increases the storage capacity of hard drives.
Western Digital said in a statement on Tuesday that it "will appeal the verdict as soon as possible." MRT attorney Marc Fenster of Russ August & Kabat told Reuters that the verdict validates that Suess' invention "really was a breakthrough in magnetic recording."
MRT sued Western Digital in 2022, alleging that several of its hard-drive products contained technology that infringed MRT patents related to data-storage improvements.
"Without using these inventions, Western Digital would not be able to compete in the market," Fenster said during closing arguments on Friday, according to a court transcript.
Western Digital argued that its technology worked differently from the patented inventions and that the patents were invalid.
"MRT's lawyers have given false credit, to a fairly magnificent extent, to Dr. Suess for the work of thousands of [Western Digital] engineers over decades and across the planet," Western Digital attorney Douglas Lumish of Latham & Watkins said during closing arguments.
The case is MR TechnologieGmbH v. Western Digital Technologies Inc, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 8:22-cv-01599.
For MRT: Marc Fenster, Reza Mirzaie, Paul Kroeger, Matthew Aichele, Jacob Buckzo, Dale Chang, Minna Chan and Brian Ledahl of Russ August & Kabat
For Western Digital: Douglas Lumish, Richard Frenkel, Patricia Young and Joseph Lee of Latham & Watkins
Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
