Fujifilm wins US import ban against Sony
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled that Japan-based Sony must stop importing products into the US that infringe a Fujifilm patent.
The cease and desist order was delivered on Thursday, March 8.
Sony’s banned magnetic data storage tapes and cartridges products infringe Fujifilm’s “Magnetic recording medium” (US patent number 6,641,891).
Fujifilm’s patent relates to a “magnetic recording medium for high-density recording having a magnetic layer, an essentially non-magnetic lower layer, and an uppermost layer comprising a ferromagnetic powder in the form of a ferromagnetic metal powder”.
Under the order, Sony must not market the product, solicit US agents or distributors for importation, or aid other entities in the importation or sale of the products.
According to Fujifilm, Sony’s infringing products include its Linear Tape Open (LTO) Ultrium 7 cartridges.
“Fujifilm is confident that it has sufficient capacity to satisfy demand for LTO-7,” said Fujifilm in a press release.
“Furthermore, Fujifilm is committed to offering unprecedented technology at competitive pricing as it fully understands that other storage options are available to its customers.”
It added that it makes significant investments in research and development to advance tape technology.
In a separate case, Sony filed a complaint at the ITC in April 2017, claiming that Fujifilm “manufacture abroad, import, sell for importation into the US, and/or sell or offer for sale after importation into the US certain LTO magnetic tape cartridges and components that infringe” its own patents.
Sony’s patents include “Memory in cassette has use restriction recorded in read-only memory” (US patent number 6,674,596), “Magnetic recording medium having a smooth biaxially tensilised film substrate” (6,979,501) and “Magnetic recording medium with backside to decrease recording surface embossment” (7,029,774).
The ITC instituted an investigation and informed Fujifilm of it in May 2017.
On Thursday, March 8, Sony said it no longer asserts the claims against Fujifilm and requested partial termination of the investigation.
It said: “No party will suffer any prejudice from Sony’s withdrawal of the claims, and its withdrawal will serve the public interest by conserving the resources of the commission, the chief administrative law judge, and the parties.”
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