17
Jun
On June 14, 2011, Trek 2000 International Ltd., Trek Technology (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., and S-Com System (S) Pte. Ltd. (collectively, “Trek”), all of Singapore, filed a complaint requesting that the ITC commence an investigation pursuant to Section 337.

The complaint alleges that Imation Corp. of Oakdale, Minnesota (“Imation”), IronKey, Inc. of Sunnyvale, California (“IronKey”), Kingston Technology Co., Inc. of Fountain Valley, California (“Kingston”), Patriot Memory, LLC of Fremont, California (“Patriot”), RITEK Corp. of Taiwan and Advanced Media, Inc./RITEK USA of Diamond Bar, California (collectively, “RITEK”), and Verbatim Corp., Inc. of Charlotte, North Carolina and Verbatim Americas, LLC of Charlotte, North Carolina (collectively, “Verbatim”) (all collectively, the “Proposed Respondents”) unlawfully import into the U.S., sell for importation, sell within the U.S. after importation and/or offer for sale within the U.S. after importation certain universal serial bus (“USB”) portable storage devices, including USB flash drives and components thereof that infringe one or more claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,880,054 (the ‘054 patent), 7,039,759 (the ‘759 patent), D463,426 (the ‘426 patent), and/or 7,549,161 (the ‘161 patent) (collectively, the “asserted patents”).

According to the complaint, the asserted patents generally relate to USB flash drive technology.  In particular, the ‘054 and ‘759 patents relate to a USB flash drive that connects to the USB port of a computer and includes memory and a memory control device that controls the flow of data from the computer to the memory of the device.  The ‘054 patent further relates to a method of restricting access to data in a USB flash drive.  The ‘759 patent further relates to a device that has a USB plug integrated into the device, such that the device can be connected to a USB port of a computer without an intervening cable.  The ‘161 patent relates to an apparatus and method for implementing biometrics-based access control to a portable storage device, such as a USB flash drive having fingerprint access control.  Lastly, the ‘426 patent relates to the ornamental design for a portable data storage device.

In the complaint, Trek alleges that the Proposed Respondents import and sell products that infringe the asserted patents.  The complaint specifically refers to the Imation Nano Flash Drive, Swivel Flash Drive, Pivot Plus Flash Drive, Pocket Flash Drive, Clip Flash Drive, Atom Flash Drive, and Defender series; the IronKey Enterprise series, Personal series, and Basic series; the Kingston DataTraveler 200, DataTraveler 310, DataTraveler 410, DataTraveler Locker series, DataTraveler 4000, and DataTraveler Vault; the Patriot Signature Line Bolt and Xporter Dash; the RITEK EZ Slider, EZ Twister, and EZ Sakura & Cursive; and the Verbatim Store ‘n’ Go series, BlazeDrive, Tuff-‘n’-Tiny, and Tuff-Clip.

Regarding domestic industry, Trek states that it conducts significant licensing and enforcement activities in the U.S. relating to the asserted patents.  In particular, Trek states that it has invested substantial amounts in the U.S. towards analyzing third party products in comparison with Trek’s patents, enforcing the asserted patents, and negotiating licenses for Trek’s patents.  Trek further states that it continues to invest in licensing its patents, including investments directed at maintaining existing licenses and seeking additional licensees of the asserted patents.  According to the complaint, a domestic industry exists under Subpart (C) of Section 337(a)(3) by virtue of Trek’s substantial investment in the exploitation of the asserted patents.

As to related litigation, Trek states that on August 5, 2006, it filed suit against Hana Micron Inc. and Hana Micron America, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleging infringement of the ‘054 and ‘759 patents.  Trek further states that this district court case was terminated based on a voluntary dismissal filed on December 12, 2006.  Trek also states that from 2002 to 2005 it was involved in litigation in the Supreme Court of Singapore against M-Systems Flash Disk Pioneers Ltd., FE Global Electronics Pte. Ltd., Electec Pte. Ltd., and Ritronics Components (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. in connection with a Singapore patent that is related to the ‘054 and ‘759 patents.

With respect to potential remedy, Trek requests that the Commission issue a limited exclusion order and a permanent cease and desist order directed at the Proposed Respondents and their affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, and assigns.