In an ongoing legal battle, Western Digital has requested a reconsideration from a California federal judge regarding a substantial verdict in favor of SPEX Technologies Inc. The case revolves around a patent infringement claim, with SPEX winning a $316 million jury verdict that was later increased to $553 million when interest was added. Western Digital argues that its products do not infringe SPEX’s data security patent, but the judge’s tentative ruling indicates that the court is leaning toward rejecting Western Digital’s post-trial motions.
In the case of SPEX Technologies Inc. v. Western Digital Corp., U.S. District Judge James V. Selna issued a tentative ruling on Monday, stating that he is inclined to uphold the jury’s decision. The jury found that Western Digital’s Ultrastar and My Book memory storage devices infringed upon SPEX’s U.S. Patent No. 6,088,802, titled “Peripheral device with integrated security functionality.” The jury’s initial verdict of $316 million was later augmented with approximately $237 million in interest, bringing the total award to $552.7 million.
SPEX contended that Western Digital lacked a noninfringing alternative for implementing hardware-based encryption in the accused products, which are single portable devices with integrated means for securing data. At trial, the jury heard expert testimony that the MyBook device used a “handshake” protocol, similar to the patented technology in SPEX’s ‘802 patent, which enables communication between the device and host computer.
Despite the ruling, Western Digital argues that the accused products do not contain the necessary “target means” for interaction with a host device, a central claim of the patent. Western Digital’s legal team, led by Jason Lo of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, insists that the SPI Flash memory, not the spinning disk in the accused products, is responsible for the data exchange, challenging the basis for the jury’s findings.
On the other hand, SPEX’s attorney, Benjamin Wang of Russ August & Kabat, emphasized that there was ample evidence supporting the jury’s decision. He pointed out that the 08H code, integral to the communication process between the accused devices and the host computer, would not exist without the spinning disk and its connection to the data exchange.
The court will continue to review the matter before issuing a final ruling. SPEX Technologies is represented by Marc A. Fenster, Benjamin T. Wang, and Andrew D. Weiss of Russ August & Kabat. Western Digital is represented by Jason Lo, Daniel J. Thomasch, Stuart M. Rosenberg, L. Kieran Kieckhefer, and Frank P. Coté of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
The case, SPEX Technologies Inc. v. Western Digital Corp., is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, under case number 8:16-cv-01799.
