Spansion Files Copyright Infringement Claims Against Macronix25 May 2006
Spansion Inc. (Nasdaq: SPSN), the world's largest pure-play provider of Flash memory solutions, today announced it has filed a copyright infringement claim against Macronix International and Macronix America in the U.S. District Court, Northern District, San Jose Division. The copyright claim was added to Spansion's trademark infringement and false advertising complaint against Macronix and seeks $100 million in damages for unlawful statements misrepresenting Macronix as an authorized second source for Spansion MirrorBit(R) Flash memory, and falsely marketing that its products are fully compatible with Spansion's MirrorBit(R) Flash memory products.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060118/SFW077LOGO )
The amended complaint was filed after Spansion discovered that Macronix has taken copyrighted Spansion MirrorBit(R) marketing materials, copied sections of them verbatim and then used them to falsely market Macronix products as compatible with Spansion MirrorBit(R) Flash memory solutions.
"By violating our copyrights and unlawfully using the MirrorBit(R) brand name, Macronix has yet again illustrated their complete disregard of U.S. trademark and copyright laws," said Robert Melendres, executive vice president of corporate development, general counsel and corporate secretary for Spansion. "The Spansion MirrorBit(R) brand and intellectual property are valuable corporate assets -- the result of years of work and millions of dollars of investment. Macronix's behavior must be stopped. We plan to protect our assets with all the means available to us under the law."
The newly amended complaint includes the following allegations:
-- Macronix has deceived customers into believing Macronix is an
authorized second source for Spansion MirrorBit(R) when they are not
-- Macronix is deliberately and falsely marketing its Flash memory devices
as interchangeable and fully compliant with Spansion MirrorBit(R)
products when they are not
-- Macronix has illegally reaped millions of dollars in revenues
-- Macronix has degraded the MirrorBit(R) brand by falsely using it to
market products that do not meet Spansion's high standards of quality,
performance and reliability
-- Macronix has willfully infringed Spansion's copyrights by intentionally
copying Spansion's copyrighted MirrorBit(R) marketing materials without
any authorization or approval from Spansion
The complaint requests:
-- Macronix forfeit all its ill-gotten gains and compensate Spansion for
their violations in an amount to be proved at trial
-- An award of enhanced damages in excess of $100 million
-- An award of statutory damages
-- An order impounding any Macronix materials that violate Spansion's
registered copyrights
-- Injunctive relief prohibiting Macronix from continuing its violations
-- An award of costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees
About Spansion
Spansion is a leading Flash memory solutions provider, dedicated to enabling, storing and protecting digital content in the wireless, automotive, networking and consumer electronics markets. Spansion, previously a joint venture of AMD and Fujitsu, is the largest company in the world dedicated exclusively to developing, designing, and manufacturing Flash memory products and systems. For more information, visit http://www.spansion.com.
NOTE: Spansion, the Spansion logo, MirrorBit(R), ORNAND, and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Spansion LLC. Other names used are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Source: prnewswire
All trademarks and copyrighted information contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
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