Tokyo — Toshiba, one of several companies that contributed key technologies to the DVD standard, is cracking down on firms it says allegedly import DVD devices that use its intellectual property without permission.
Toshiba named 17 companies in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for allegedly infringing its DVD patents.
Toshiba is seeking an immediate injunction to stop selling DVD products in the United States, and undisclosed damages.
Companies named in the lawsuit include the following: Daewoo Electronics America (Korea), Dongguan GVG Digital Technology and GVG Digital Technology Holdings (Hong Kong), Dongguan Xin Lian Digital Technology (China), GVG Digital Technology Holdings (Hong Kong), jWIN Electronics (United States), Memcorp (United States), Star Light Electronics (Hong Kong), Starlight International Holdings (Hong Kong), Starlight Marketing (Hong Kong), Tonic Digital Products (Hong Kong), Tonic DVB Marketing (China), Tonic Electronics (Hong Kong), Tonic Industries Holdings (Hong Kong), Tonic Technology (Hong Kong) Limited (Hong Kong), Tonic Technology (China), Tonic Trading Development (Hong Kong).
Companies named in the lawsuit that were contacted for comment did not respond as this was posted.
Toshiba said in a statement that it has also filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, seeking to stop further importation of DVD players by the named companies.
“The infringement of Toshiba’s patents by these companies has damaged Toshiba’s DVD-related business, and also caused damage to the legitimate and licensed DVD product manufacturing and distribution business as a whole,” Toshiba’s statement said. “Through the filing of the ITC complaint and the district court lawsuit, Toshiba seeks to exclude infringing imports, recover monetary damages, and secure agreements to respect Toshiba’s intellectual property rights in the future.”
