DEC Sues Anaheim Firm, Alleging Patent Violation

Digital Equipment Corp. said Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit against a much smaller rival, Micro Technology Inc., accusing the Anaheim company of infringing DEC patents on certain computer storage technology.

The suit is the second filed by Maynard, Mass.-based DEC against companies that make data storage products for its minicomputers. It also makes storage products for its computer line. DEC settled a similar suit filed against Systems Industries Inc. of Milpitas in December.

Dallas Kirk, a DEC spokesman, said the company’s suit claims that Micro Technology is infringing four patents covering the way that data is stored and retrieved in DEC minicomputers. The suit, filed in federal court in Denver, specifically names Micro Technology’s MA series of tape drives and its MDI series of disk drives.

Thomas Raimondi, Micro Technology’s director of product marketing, said the company expected the suit after DEC’s earlier action against Systems Industries. He said the company denies the charges. “It is their standard procedure to sue a company if they can’t beat the competition,” he said.

Sales of equipment for the DEC market accounted for 65% of Micro Technology’s sales of $85 million for its year ended March 31, 1991, the company said.

“Obviously, we would prefer that companies like MTI voluntarily agree to stop infringing,” Charles F. Christ, a DEC vice president, said in a statement. He said Micro Technology rejected attempts to settle the matter without litigation.

“DEC’s legal eagles have been busy lately,” said Michael Vizard, news editor of Digital Review, a Newton, Mass., trade magazine.