Victor Company of Japan, Limited (JVC), an operating company of the JVC KENWOOD Group, announced that it won a suit it had filed against Conrexx Technology B.V. (Conrexx), a German affiliate of Ritek Corporation, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of DVD recordable and other optical storage discs.

According to the statement, the suit had been filed with the District Court of Mannheim in Germany concerning infringement of JVC’s DVD recordable disc patent (technology to scrambling digital information to be recorded on a disc). Following the decision, JVC and Ritek agreed to conclude a license agreement, including for the patent in dispute, and will proceed with discussions on the terms of settlement.

The judgment orders Conrexx to cease and desist the manufacture, sale, use and import of DVD-R discs, disclose information on products that violate the patent, compensate JVC for damages as well as reimburse it for legal costs and expenses.

JVC states that, as a holder of essential DVD technology patents, it is continuously pursuing license activities through the DVD6C or independently. As a result, Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd., Moser Baer India, Ltd. (MBIL) and other companies have individually acquired licenses from JVC, in addition to corporations that have obtained licenses from DVD6C. JVC is taking enforcement procedures, including legal action, in various countries against manufacturers of DVD products that continue business without acquiring such licenses.

As a matter of background, the DVD6C is an agency that licenses the intellectual property of nine developers of DVD technologies and formats (Hitachi, Ltd., Panasonic Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Victor Company of Japan, Limited, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.). The DVD6C collectively and jointly licenses many patents essential to all DVD products (players, recorders, drives and discs) to third parties around the world.

For more information visit: www.jk-holdings.com ; www.conrexx.com