Toshiba Seeks Remedies for Infringement of Essential DVD Patents in U.S

Toshiba's filing requests that the ITC prohibit the importation into the United States of DVD players, DVD recorders and other DVD-related products by the companies named in the complaint. In a related move, Toshiba also filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on the same day, seeking damages resulting from infringement of Toshiba's DVD patents by the same 17 companies.

Toshiba licenses patents essential for meeting DVD format specifications.*1 The 17 companies named in the complaint and the lawsuit do not have license agreements with Toshiba or the DVD6C Licensing Group*2, and have engaged in the importation and sale of DVD products without permission.

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. 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.