Back in April of 2008, there were several stories about Seagate Technology LLC filing a lawsuit against STEC inc., alleging various patent infringements covering Solid State Drive (SSD or Solid State Disk) technology.
Prior to the lawsuit, Seagate’s CEO Bill Watkins made some comments that they didn’t see SSDs doing all that well, which was ironic in light of the fact that more and more companies were offering them, even as prices were dropping:
“Realistically, I just don’t see the flash notebook sell….We just don’t see the proposition.â€
Forbes is now reporting that Seagate has dropped the patent suit against STEC, due to economic conditions:
In a statement, Scotts Valley, Calif.-based Seagate said pursuing the case is no longer worth the cost because poor economic conditions have limited Stec’s sales of the disputed technology.
But Stec, based in Santa Ana, Calif., called Seagate’s patent claims “unsubstantiated,” and said after the legal discovery process, in which companies exchange information, Seagate dropped its claims.
Read: Forbes