Toshiba Corporation, on behalf of the DVD6C Licensing Group
(DVD6C) consisting of eight leading developers of DVD technology and
formats -- Hitachi, Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.,
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp
Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC)
and Warner Home Video, Inc. -- today announced that it has won a legal
victory against former licensee Citron Electronics Co., Ltd., a
supplier to CyberHome Entertainment, Inc.
Judge Lawrence McKenna of the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York entered a judgment against Citron that
the DVD6C Patent License Agreement with Citron was lawfully terminated
and that Citron is liable to Toshiba for breach of contract for at
least US$9.5 million. Toshiba terminated the DVD6C Patent License
Agreement with Citron after Citron failed to fulfill its material
obligations of royalty reporting and/or royalty payment under the
License Agreement. Judge McKenna also ordered further proceedings to
determine additional liability of Citron to Toshiba. Toshiba intends
to seek a judgment for all damages owed by Citron.
It is cautioned that the sale, offering for sale, use, importation
or other disposal of DVD products of Citron may constitute
infringement of patent rights in countries where essential patents of
DVD6C members have been issued or registered.
Toshiba will continue to diligently enforce Toshiba's patent
rights against any and all infringers.
