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29 February 2016Patents

Portfolio analysis: mapping the Western Digital/SanDisk merger

Data storage company Western Digital’s purchase of rival SanDisk could be based on a desire to increase its dominance in flash memory in order to keep up with changing market trends, an analysis of the companies’ patent portfolios has shown.

Using data from Thomson Reuters’ patent searching service Thomson Innovation, WIPR analysed both companies’ patent portfolios in the area of “data storage” and what the combined portfolio will look like once the merger is completed.

In total, there are 900 patents owned by Western Digital and 532 by SanDisk related to “data storage”.

According to Themescape 1 (see below), SanDisk has lots of patents clustered around the areas of “memory layer” and “memory cell aspect”.

Western Digital, according to Themescape 2 (see below), has many patents directed to “memory controller” and “sector servo”.

A  comparison of the two companies’ portfolios (see below) shows that there is little overlap, but that SanDisk (in green) is strong in patents directed to “flash memory module” and “programme voltage”. Western Digital’s strengths are primarily in the “disk data storage” field.

The most overlap is for patents directed to “data storage device”.

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