Hewlett-Packard and EMC filed duelling lawsuits yesterday,
accusing each other of infringing on patents for data storage
technology, according to media reports. HP filed first in a
district court in California, alleging that “a range of features”
in EMC’s Symmetrix and Clariion systems and TimeFinder software
infringe seven of its patents; EMC responded within hours, saying
HP was infringing EMC’s patents.
HP is seeking to block EMC from continuing to use the
intellectual property allegedly protected by the patents, in
addition to damages.
EMC claims that “certain HP data storage products” infringe six
patents owned by EMC. Four of the allegedly infringed EMC patents
are “the foundation” of the Symmetrix Remote Data Facility and
TimeFinder software products.
HP said in a statement that it “would prefer to compete with EMC
in the marketplace”, and that EMC “opted to pursue a lawsuit
against Hitachi… as well as HP directly through ongoing litigation
relative to StorageApps.” Hitachi is one of EMC’s technology
providers, whilst StorageApps was acquired by HP last year.
EMC on the other hand characterised the HP suit as a
“competitive marketing volley”, according to Reuters.
