- Western Digital was ordered to pay $ 316 million back in October 2024 over patent violation
- Additional $ 237 million is now added in interest
- WD set to divide its SSD and HDD companies
Western Digital (WD) has been given only seven days to cough $ 553 million in a patent violation case.
The severe penalty comes when a California jury found the WD guilty of October 2024 for offensive data encryption patents owned by Spex Technologies – at that time the fine was a lesser $ 316 million to cover damage.
Another $ 237 million in interest was added by district judge James Selna last month, which brought the total amount to $ 553 million.
WD has to pay $ 550 million within seven days
San Jose Data Storage Company had requested a delay in payment pending additional court decisions, but Judge Selna expressed concern that WD could use a restructuring relocation to change how much it would need to pay, and therefore required that The company settles in just a week.
“The court is concerned about potential corporate structure, especially considering that the verdict is only against Western Digital Technologies, Inc.,” Selna said.
This may be a sign of Western Digital’s pending split, whereby its NAND -Flash storage business would go off the Sandisk mark and its hard disk operations would remain under WD branding. The company expects the finish to end in a week, February 21st.
Spex said it was not sure that “which new company will be responsible for satisfying the verdict or whether it will be shared between the new businesses or whether the new company (or businesses) would be sufficiently enabled to cover judgment. “
California-based Spex also noted that WD has another trial of violating the storage patent regarding Germany’s MR Technology.
Back then, Western Digital Lawyer Douglas Lumish said from Latham & Watkins (via Pakinomist): “Mrt’s lawyers have given false credit, to a fairly magnificent extent, to Dr. Suess for the work for thousands of [Western Digital] Engineers over decades and across the planet. “
Techradar Pro Have asked Western Digital to comment on the Spex Patent Violation Case, but we did not receive an immediate response.
Via Registered
