A Dutch Court has ordered Nomai SA to stop using any XHD disk packaging that incorporates images resembling Iomega Corp’s block Zip 100 logo. The Dutch Court has told the French storage operation that all infringing images or flags must be removed within eight days of the ruling, and must also stop using packing which infringes on the Iomega trademark. If Nomai fails to comply with the ruling it will be stung with a daily fine of up to one 1m Dutch guilders or around the equivalent of $500,000. But in a move that came as a blow to Iomega, the court in Amsterdam ruled that certain
Iomega software, recorded on all Zip drives, is not protected under Dutch copyright laws. The companies have been locked in an ongoing legal battle since last May (CI No 3,155), and a few days ago Iomega won a slight victory when a Californian court ruled Nomai could not advertise its XHD disks as being compatible with Iomega Zip drives (CI No 3,349). But the Dutch Court says that Iomega must remove the light baffle included in its notebook Zip drives in the European Community, or face a daily fine of up to 10m guilders or $5m. According to Iomega, the light baffles prevent the
insertion of inappropriate disks – in other words disks from other manufacturers – to protect consumers from accidentally damaging the drive’s heads. Iomega plans to appeal against this aspect of the ruling.