| SANDISK corporation FILES PATENT INFRINGEMENT CLAIM AGAINST Memorex, Pretec Electronics, RITEK Corporation and PQI IN Federal DISTRICT COURT SUNNYVALE, CA, Oct. 31, 2001 - SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) announced today that it has filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against Memorex Products Inc., Santa Fe Springs, CA, Pretec Electronics Corporation, Fremont, CA, Ritek Corporation, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan, and Power Quotient International Co., Ltd, Fremont, CA, for infringement of SanDisk's United States Patent No. 5,602,987, a fundamental flash memory system patent.
The patent, "Flash EEPROM System" (U.S. Patent No. 5,602,987) was issued on February 11, 1997. The patent discloses and claims important aspects of the operation of removable flash memory cards, such as CompactFlash cards. SanDisk, a pioneering technology company in the flash memory market, holds more than 150 patents related to flash memory and flash memory systems.
Steven S. Baik, senior intellectual property counsel for SanDisk, said, "We believe that Memorex, Pretec, Ritek and PQI have been selling and offering for sale flash memory cards that infringe valid SanDisk patents. This action is a clear signal to these and other Taiwanese companies that SanDisk will vigorously assert its intellectual property rights against such companies."
SanDisk, the world's largest supplier of flash data storage products, designs, manufactures and markets industry-standard, solid-state data, digital imaging and audio storage products using its patented, high density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is based in Sunnyvale, CA.
The matters discussed in this news release contain forward looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties as described under the caption, "Factors That May Affect Future Results," specifically, the section entitled "Risks associated with Patents, Proprietary Rights and Related Litigation," in the company's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The companies assume no obligation to update the information in this release.
SanDisk's web site/home page address: http://www.sandisk.com
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