Seagate drops Stec patent suit due to economy
updated 05:15 pm EST, Thu February 26, 2009
Seagate drops Stec suit
Hard drive and flash-based memory maker Seagate announced on Thursday that is has dropped its patent suit against competitor Stec and that Stec has likewise dropped its countersuit, Forbes reports. Seagate said in a statement that pursuing the matter is no longer cost-efficient and the recent poor economic conditions have slowed Stec's sales of the technology that was being disputed in the lawsuit.
Stec maintains Seagate's claims were unsubstantiated. Reportedly, Seagate dropped its claims after the initial legal discovery process, during which companies are required to produce information necessary to the other's case. It is at this point that the memory maker learned of Stec's weak sales of the offending products.
In the lawsuit that was filed in April, Seagate claimed Stec's solid-state drives violate four of the company's patents.
