IBM and Dell Libraries From BDT Infringe Overland Patent

Overland Storage, Inc. announced that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has released the public version of the Initial Determination in the infringement action filed by Overland Storage against IBM Corp., Dell, Inc. and BDT.

On November 16, 2011, Overland Storage reported that the ITC and District Court actions against IBM and Dell had been resolved by settlement.

The Initial Determination makes several key findings regarding Overland Storage’s U.S. Patent No. 6,328,766, which relates to partitioning media elements as it relates to automated data storage and retrieval systems methods for allowing two computers to store and retrieve data without interfering with one another.

Some details of the initial determination are:

• All six asserted claims by Overland Storage of the partitioning patent ‘766 are valid
• The IBM TS3100 and TS3200 and the Dell TL2000 and TL4000 tape libraries, which are manufactured by BDT, "directly infringe" all ‘766 claims asserted by Overland Storage
• Overland Storage product development and manufacturing activities in the United States satisfy the ITC’s domestic industry requirements for the partitioning (‘766) patent

"Innovation is the driving force of technology companies, and the ability to create and protect their intellectual property is critical to companies as they develop new products and protect existing assets. After twenty-one months of investigation, it is satisfying to have the ITC rule that infringement has occurred," said Eric Kelly, president and CEO of Overland Storage. "These patented technologies are central to protecting data deployed in enterprises around the world. With an extensive portfolio of additional patents that have been granted, our IP portfolio will assist us in continuing to shape the future of the data management and data protection markets for years to come."

Overland Storage lead attorney Sean Cunningham, Partner at DLA Piper LLP, commented: "Our legal system allows businesses to protect their patented inventions against unauthorized use. Our goal is to help protect Overland’s valuable intellectual property, and to stop the defendants from illegally profiting from our client’s innovations."

Overland Storage has petitioned the full Commission for a review of some of the Initial Determination’s findings. If the Commission decides to review the Initial Determination on the merits, the Commission is expected to issue its decision in a Final Determination by October 22, 2012. Upon completion of the ITC case, Overland Storage plans to pursue monetary damages against BDT in district court.

Represented by DLA Piper LLP (US), Overland Storage previously reported that it filed additional lawsuits on June 28, 2012 claiming infringement of one or both of the Overland Storage patents involved in the ITC case against BDT. Those lawsuits name as defendants Quantum Corporation; Spectra Logic Corporation; PivotStor, Inc.; Qualstar Corporation; Tandberg Data GmbH; Tandberg Data Corp.; and Venture Corporation Limited. In addition to a royalty for its patented inventions, Overland seeks to prevent each of the defendants from using its patented technologies in the United States.

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