There will be dismay at the likes of Conner Peripherals Inc and Quantum Corp, major players in the 3.5 disk drive market, at the news that IBM has acknowledged Glenrothes, Scotland-based Rodime’s Plc’s patents on the concept and design of 3.5 Winchesters and agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to settle Rodime’s claims against it. IBM originally brought suit in an effort to get Rodime’s patents declared invalid, but the US Patent Office re-examined and reconfirmed them in 1988. Under the settlement, the two agreed to withdraw all pending legal actions and entered into mutual releases and a patent cross-licensing agreement in which IBM will pay Rodime an undisclosed sum that should turn up in Rodime’s accounts sometime soon. The settlement opens up the prospect that Rodime will quite soon be be earning a lot more money from its patents than it does from its disks, which could see some action in the shares, which were languishing at 6.5 pence on Thursday.
