SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY : Archive Corp. Stock Drops During Heavy Trading Over Patent Fight

Archive Corp.’s stock fell in heavy trading Friday as investors evidently grew uneasy over a patent fight between the Costa Mesa technology company and a rival firm, Cipher Data Products of San Diego.

Archive and Cipher Data have traded lawsuits over computer storage technology that each company claims to have patented. Both firms manufacture tape drives used to store computer data.

The patents in question cover technology used in Archive’s best-selling products, 5.25-inch tape drives.

Archive’s stock closed Friday at $5.875, down 25 cents in over-the-counter trading. About 246,000 shares changed hands--several times the average daily volume.

Archive spokesman Bob Maples attributed the heavy volume Friday to a federal court decision Thursday that upheld Cipher’s patent claims in a similar suit Cipher brought against the Wangtek division of Rexon Inc.

According to Cipher spokesman Peter E. McGuirk, a federal court jury in San Francisco upheld the validity of Cipher’s patents covering certain features of its 5.25-inch tape drive products. The jury also found that Wangtek had infringed Cipher’s patents.

Archive Chairman D. Howard Lewis said the company is disappointed by the ruling in the Wangtek case “because we believe Cipher’s patents to be weak.” He added: “However, we do not feel that this jury verdict has materially changed our view of Cipher’s patents.”