Quantum Sues Tandon Over Patent Infringement

Tandon Corp. is denying accusations made by Quantum Corp. in a lawsuit that disk-drive data storage equipment Tandon once made infringed on Quantum patents.

Tandon was sued last week in U.S. District Court in San Jose by Quantum and its Plus Development subsidiary.

Tandon, which finished moving its corporate headquarters to Moorpark from Chatsworth on Friday, sold its disk-drive business to Western Digital earlier this year. Tandon formerly made hard-disk drives used in personal computers to store and retrieve data on rigid platters.

Tandon said none of its products infringed on the Quantum patents, which it said were “of questionable validity.”

Quantum, based in Milpitas, said it has received favorable settlements in previous patent lawsuits over the design of its disk drives. In 1986, for example, it received $6 million in a settlement with Computer Memories, a former disk-drive maker in Chatsworth that Quantum had accused of patent infringement.