Spansion, Kodak sue mobile phone makers Samsung and LG for patent violations

One of the world's largest suppliers of flash memory chips, Spansion, and camera and film maker Kodak have filed separate law suits against mobile phone makers Samsung and LG for infringing patents that cover flash memory and the technology related to image capture, compression, data storage and video clips.

Spansion on Monday filed two patent infringement complaints against Samsung with the International Trade Commission and the US district court in Delaware, while Kodak filed law suits against Samsung and LG in a US district court in New York, as well as with the US International Trade Commission.

Spansion has sought the exclusion from the US market of over 100 million MP3 players, cell phones, digital cameras and other consumer electronic devices containing Samsung's infringing flash memory components, making it one of the largest patent infringement claims ever filed.

In its complaint in the US district court in Delaware, Spansion sought an injunction and three times damages for patent violations relating to Samsung flash memory, which, according to Spansion, accounted for more than $30 billion in Samsung's global revenues since 2003.

Kodak's law suits allege that both Samsung and LG camera phones infringe Kodak digital camera patents. The law suits have sought compensation for damages resulting from the companies' infringement and injunctions and guarantees against further imports and sale by Samsung and LG of products infringing its patents.

Kodak, which has licensed its imaging patents to several leading technology companies, including MEI/Panasonic, Motorola, Nokia, Olympus, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony, Sony Ericsson, and others, did not disclose the amount of damages it was pursuing.

Spansion, in its ITC complaint, also listed the "manufacturers of downstream products" containing Samsung's infringing devices. Companies named in the ITC case include Samsung, Apple, Asus, Kingston, Lenovo, PNY, RIM, Sony, Sony-Ericsson, and Transcend.

Flash memory is used in virtually all electronic devices and is one of the largest segments of the semiconductor industry, accounting for nearly $130 billion in total revenues since 2000.