sony-logo
12 April 2013Patents

Sony and Red Digital Cinema locked in patent tussle

Japanese electronics maker Sony has countersued Red Digital Cinema in their US patent dispute over digital camera technology.

US camera-maker Red Digital Cinema sued Sony over two patents in February, demanding a permanent injunction against three products – the F65, F5 and F55 models – and that Sony destroy any infringing cameras.

Sony responded on April 5, claiming Red Digital Cinema has infringed seven patents directed to digital camera technology. The suit identifies products including the Red One, Epic, Redmote and Scarlet cameras that should be permanently banned and destroyed.

“Sony makes significant investments into the research & development of technology related to the cinema camera industry and intends to protect those investments against companies that infringe our patents,” a statement on Sony’s website said.

Sony’s patents protect inventions including a “method of and apparatus for setting up electronic device” and an “apparatus and method for recording and reproducing a video signal with camera setting data”.

The patents asserted by Red Digital Cinema, which has been selling cameras and other digital software products since 2005, are both called “video camera”.

Red Digital Cinema founder Jim Jannard posted on the Reduser forum shortly after the company initiated the case: “We are heavily invested in concepts, inventions, designs, development and manufacturing of RED cameras, REDRAY and the RED Projector. Each is unique and has motivated the industry to get better, for the benefit of all. We don’t mind others joining the 4K revolution... quite the contrary, we embrace it.

“What we don’t accept is others just borrowing our technology, intentionally or unintentionally. We admire invention and happily pay for and license great technology from other companies when it is useful to our program.”

Christopher Larus, partner at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP in Minneapolis, said that Red Digital Cinema, as a smaller company with fewer patents than Sony, may be at a disadvantage when defending its patents.

“Sony has a very large patent portfolio and can be a very difficult patent plaintiff because of the large number of numbers they can bring to bear in a dispute,” he said.

He added that the case highlights the risk smaller businesses take when enforcing their patents against large companies, which can review their own portfolios for similar patents or acquire patents from third parties to submit a counterclaim.

The case is being heard as the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Neither Sony nor Red Digital Cinema were willing to comment.

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk