The End of the Proprietary Era Businesses are moving away from proprietary architectures to reduce their TCO and improve performance, scalability, and availability. New Dual-Core Itanium® 2-based solutions provide unbeatable flexibility, scalable performance and mainframe-class reliability without the mainframe price tag. Read this White Paper. >   Mainframe Reliability at Mainstream Prices As companies worldwide move toward real-time computing models for core business applications, the cost of downtime is growing. Itanium-based solutions offer a cost-effective way to meet rising requirements, providing a more flexible, affordable and widely supported platform than RISC and mainframe architectures. Read the White Paper. >   Transform your Data Center with Dual-Core Itanium 2 Successful companies are making strategic IT decisions to help them achieve competitive advantage. Designed specifically for the most demanding enterprise applications, such as BI and ERP, the Dual-Core Intel® Itanium® 2 processor handles the heaviest workloads at a far lower cost than proprietary offerings. Read the Brief. >   Which is right for you—Itanium 2 or x86 Architecture? With the growing market success of Itanium® 2-based solutions and the integration of 64-bit extensions into x86-based processors, organizations now have a choice of two widely supported, industry-standard, 64-bit architectures. Which is the right choice for your data center? Read the White Paper. >   Dual-Core Delivers Double the Performance With double the performance, unbeatable flexibility, enhanced mainframe-class reliability and Intel® Virtualization Technology, Dual-Core Itanium® 2-based servers provide the ideal platform for data-intensive computing. Read the Brief.  Learn more. >

•For Sale: Your Data, Cost: Your Privacy •Feeling the Need for RSS Feeds •Chip Wars Shift to 64-bit •Return of The Browser Wars •The Lure of The Social Network •The Vista Ripple Effect •Revving up WiMAX

•VPNs: $23B And Growing •Big Deals From The Small Sector •Chip Sales Up Almost 10% •Image-based Spam on the Rise •What's The Top IDE? •Antivirus Software a Big Business. Surprised? •Adobe, Google Bundle Up •Mixing Business with Pleasure •Open Source Stoking Hot Middleware Market

September 15, 2006
Toshiba, Micron Settle Flash Gripe For $288M
By Clint Boulton

UPDATED: Toshiba today said it will pay $288 million for Micron's NAND Flash semiconductor technology and license patents to settle all of the litigation between Toshiba and Lexar Media, which Micron bought in June.

NAND Flash (define) has become the preferred format for storing large quantities of data on USB Flash drives, digital cameras and MP3 players, devices that are quickly proliferating at a time when customers demand more mobile technologies.

For that reason, NAND is one of the hottest technologies in the semiconductor sector, and is a multi-billion-dollar industry with huge stakes between No. 1 Toshiba and No. 2 Samsung.

Gartner said NAND Flash sales topped $10.7 billion in 2005; the research firm expects $14.7 billion in sales through 2006.

The deal between Toshiba and Micron settles the rancorous, long-running patent dispute between Toshiba and Lexar, a case that involved breach of fiduciary duty and theft of trade secrets going back several years.

The case simmered since 2002 and boiled over last year when a jury ordered Toshiba to pay Lexar $465.4 million for stealing trade secrets and infringing on patents.

The shock of that verdict reverberated throughout the industry and served as a cautionary tale about what can happen when executives from one company move on to a competitor.

Lexar was later dealt a blow in the legal war after a California Superior Court judge declined the Flash memory maker's request for Toshiba to stop selling its own Flash products.

When Micron agreed to acquire Lexar last year, analysts openly questioned whether or not Micron would be able to assume the litigation burden and settle with Toshiba.

To be sure, Gartner analyst Joseph Unsworth said he was surprised at the settlement price for Toshiba, but warned that the competitive nature of the NAND Flash space could lead to additional litigation down the road.

"While it seems that Toshiba got off the hook pretty easily financially, it certainly does not spell the end of patent disputes for the NAND industry and its participants," he said.

Today, Toshiba and Micron resolved their gripe in a friendly fashion.

"We appreciate that Micron approached this issue in a positive spirit that allowed the parties to work together to bring all outstanding litigation and claims to a full and final resolution," said Masashi Muromachi, corporate executive vice president of Toshiba Corporation and president & CEO of Toshiba's semiconductor company.

"We have enjoyed a strong relationship with Toshiba for a number of years, have the highest respect for Toshiba as an innovator in flash technology and see no merit in continuing to pursue this litigation," said Micron Chairman, CEO and President Steve Appleton.

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