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Toshiba / Samsung joint venture hit with lawsuit by LG over DVD+RW/RAM patents
LG Electronics has found itself at the center of quite a few patent lawsuits in recent years (both as a plaintiff and defendant), and it's now kicked yet another one off. As Bloomberg reports, LG has today filed suit against Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology, alleging that the Toshiba / Samsung joint venture violated a number of patents related to DVD+RW and DVD-RAM technology. In the complaint, LG further alleges that TSST is knowingly infringing on the patents as they were previously licensed to Toshiba itself (and TSST as an affiliate company) as part of a deal that expired in 2010. LG is asking for a jury trial to sort things out, and demanding that TSSC pay "no less than a reasonable royalty" along with some unspecified damages. You can find the complaint in full at the link below.
LG: No Blu-ray player this spring, combo player in the fall?
CE Pro is reporting LG sent a memo to their dealers indicating that among other things, like removing LCoS screens from their lineup, they have cancelled their BD199 player due to "uncertainty in the market". Without even stopping to mourn the BD199 that never was, they go on to say they expect to launch a combination Blu-ray/HD-DVD player by late summer or early fall.A device that plays both formats would seem to be the holy grail of high def DVD's, but we seem to recall Samsung saying that due to licensing restrictions of both camps that it would be impossible to produce one. Now that AACS is somewhat settled, and Sony and NEC working together (although Samsung already similarly partnered with Toshiba), has something changed? The real question seems to be is there any point in HDTV owners buying a first generation player if combination units are right around the corner.
