Iomega Corp has won a preliminary injunction in its patent infringement suit against SyQuest Technology Inc in Paris District Court which will prevent SyQuest from importing and selling its SparQ 1.0Gb cartridges in France until the case is resolved. Iomega had asked the court to issue the injunction based on the claim that the SparQ product infringes on a European patent recently granted to Iomega that covers the anti-rattle mechanism built into Iomega’s Jaz cartridges. The court has ruled that SyQuest pay nominal damages of $2,500 plus $16.50 for each SparQ cartridge it sells after the injunction takes effect. Iomega’s injunction request also sought to suspend the import and sale of SparQ in the UK, Germany and Italy, but the French court declined ruling on the activity outside its borders. SyQuest, for its part, said that it was surprised by the court’s action and is preparing to file an appeal with the French appellate court. The company also said it doesn’t expect any material impact on its financial performance, as the SparQ product was only recently introduced in France and has yet to provide significant revenues. The decision comes just two months after Iomega had seen a similar patent infringement suit against SyQuest concerning the company’s 1.5Gb SyJet cartridges dismissed by a French court (CI No 3,411). Iomega is no stranger to litigation – especially in France – as its long and well-documented battle with French rival Nomai SA recently ended with Iomega’s acquisition of a majority stake in the company (CI No 3,442).
