Sun Microsystems’ data-management group is seeking $109 million from competitor Quantum Corp. in a patent-infringement case set to go to trial next month in Denver.
The companies are fighting over technology that Louisville-based Storage Technology Corp., which was acquired last year by Sun, and San Jose, Calif.-based Quantum developed separately in the 1990s. The technology makes the companies’ data-storage systems more efficient by allowing information to be recorded on the back of storage tapes.
A seven- to eight-day trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 27 before U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch. Sun said in a filing last month that there is “some possibility of settlement” in the case. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said in that filing that Quantum owes it $109 million in royalties for infringing on its patents.
Quantum had revenues of $808 million in 2004. Sun’s annual revenues, with the addition of StorageTek, exceed $13 billion. Quantum officials could not be reached for comment late Thursday.
The case is big by Colorado standards. Last year’s largest civil jury verdict in the state was a $51 million award to Medtronic Navigation Inc., a Louisville-based division of medical-device giant Medtronic Inc., against BrainLab AG of Germany. Medtronic had sought $144 million in the patent-infringement case alleging that BrainLab stole its technology for computer-imaging products used by surgeons.
In 2003, Centennial-based Laser Technology won a $1.2 million verdict against Nikon Inc. in a dispute over range finders used by golfers and hunters.
In 2002, Metabolite Laboratories, a company affiliated with the University of Colorado, and Competitive Technologies won a $1 million patent-infringement award against Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings. LabCorp also was found liable for $3.6 million on a breach-of-contract claim in the case involving a test that helps predict strokes, heart attacks and dementia. A federal judge later increased the total award to $6.1 million.
Staff writer Greg Griffin can be reached at 303-820-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com.
