TOKYO –Toshiba Corp. is trying to block DVD products of 17 manufacturers from being imported to the U.S.
Toshiba and Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. filed a formal complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC) April 6 against the manufacturers and importers of DVD players, DVD recorders and other DVD-related products, as a means to halt infringement of Toshiba’s DVD patents.
There was no word on whether Toshiba has filed or will file a similar complaint in Canada.
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. It said the 17 companies named in the complaint and the lawsuit do not have license agreements with Toshiba or the DVD6C Licensing Group, and have engaged in the importation and sale of DVD products without permission.
Toshiba alledged the infringement of its 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 said it seeks to exclude infringing imports, recover monetary damages, and secure agreements to respect its intellectual property rights in the future.
The filings are against Daewoo Electronics America, Inc. (U.S.), Dongguan GVG Digital Technology Ltd. (China), Dongguan Tonic Electronics Co., Ltd. (China), Dongguan Xin Lian Digital Technology Co. Ltd. (China), GVG Digital Technology Holdings Ltd. (HK), jWIN Electronics Corporation (U.S.), Memcorp Inc. (U.S.), Star Light Electronics Co. Ltd. (Hong Kong), Starlight International Holdings Limited (Hong Kong), Starlight Marketing (HK) Ltd. (Hong Kong), Tonic Digital Products Limited (Hong Kong), Tonic DVB Marketing Ltd. (China), Tonic Electronics Limited (Hong Kong), Tonic Industries Holdings Limited (Hong Kong), Tonic Technology (HK) Limited (Hong Kong), Tonic Technology (Shenzhen) Ltd. (China) and Tonic Trading Development Ltd. (Hong Kong).