Philips Electronics Files ITC Complaint Against 19 Optical Disc Manufacturers and Distributors; Claims Infringement on CD-R and CD-RW Disc Patents.Business Editors US Philips Corporation announced today that it has filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC ITC (Brit) n abbr (= Independent Television Commission) → Fernseh-Aufsichtsgremium ITC n abbr (BRIT) (= Independent Television Commission) → ) against 19 optical disc manufacturers and U.S. based trading companies for infringement of Philips patents covering Compact Disc-Recordable (CD-R (CD-Recordable) A writable CD technology using a type of compact disc that can be recorded, but not erased (CD-Rs are "write once" discs). CD-R discs are used to master CD-ROMs, to back up data and to make copies of data for distribution. ) and Compact Disc-Rewritable (CD-RW (CD-ReWritable) The only rewritable CD technology. CD-RW disks look like other CD media, but with close inspection, they have a more polished surface with a very dark blue-gray cast. ) technologies. The companies named include: ACME Production Industries; Bregusa Micro International LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control ; Digital Storage Technology Co., Ltd.; DiscsDirect.Com; Gigastorage Corporation Taiwan; Gigastorage Corporation USA; Jacsonic Group; J & E Enterprises, Inc.; KingPro Mediatek Inc.; Linberg Enterprise Inc; NewEgg.Com, Inc.; PNY Technologies, Inc.; QTC Computer Systems, Inc.; STI STI systolic time intervals. Certified Products, Inc.; Symmetry Group, Inc.; Tiger Direct, Inc.; TKO Media Inc.; U.S. Digital Media, Inc.; and Xtraplus Corporation. Philips asserts that the 19 companies have infringed certain of its patents by manufacturing for sale, or selling imported CD-R and CD-RW discs in the United States without having any license under the patents. In the complaint, Philips asked the ITC to issue an order excluding importation of all unlicensed discs into the United States so that the more than 70 manufacturers currently licensed by Philips to make CD-Rs and CD-RWs are not at a competitive disadvantage to the infringing imports. With more than 75,000 patent rights, 22,000 trademark registrations, 6000 design registrations and some 900 domain name registrations, Philips is a major technology provider by granting licenses to third parties. The company emphasized that it places great importance on protecting its innovations through intellectual property rights (IPRs). About Philips Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of $28.8 billion (EUR EUR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Euro. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 32.3 billion) in 2001. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, and one-chip TV products. Its 186,000 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, and medical systems. Philips is quoted on the NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange (symbol: PHG), London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter. |
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