Sandisk Corp. v. Lexar Media, Inc.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

This is an action for infringement of Patent No. 5,602,987 (the “’987”). Now before the Court is plaintiffs motion for partial summary judgment of defendant’s contributory infringement of Claim 10 of the ’987 and defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment of non-infringement, as well as defendant’s motion for summary judgment of the invalidity of Claim 10 of the ’987. After carefully considering the papers filed by the parties, and having had the benefit of oral argument on March 17, 2000, plaintiffs motion for summary judgment of contributory infringement is GRANTED and defendant’s cross-motion is DENIED. Defendant’s motion for summary judgment of invalidity is also DENIED.

BACKGROUND

The parties are competitors in the flash memory storage card market, also referred to as' a “PC Card.” The memory cards are long-term non-volatile memory for computer systems, such as desktop computers, palm pilots, and digital cameras.

A. The Lawsuit

The ’987 is owned by plaintiff Sandisk Corporation (“Sandisk”). The ’987 describes a non-volatile computer memory system. Sandisk’s lawsuit alleges that the PC Cards manufactured by defendant Lexar Media, Inc. (“Lexar”)…