Anaheim-Based Odetics Wins $100-Million Patent Suit Settlement

Anaheim-based Odetics Inc. will receive $100 million as a settlement of a 4-year-old patent infringement lawsuit against a competitor, the company said Friday.

The agreement calls for Louisville, Colo.-based Storage Technology Corp. to pay Odetics $80 million immediately, plus $10 million each year for the next two years, and settles all outstanding patent litigation between the two companies.

“We’re very pleased with this,” said Gregory Miner, Odetics’ chief financial officer. “It’s been a long pull.”

The companies compete in the $32-billion world market for computer storage products. Odetics had accused Storage Technology of infringing on patents related to data storage in network computing.

Odetics had filed two suits against Storage Technology, the first resulting in a 1998 jury verdict in favor of Odetics. The verdict was later reversed by a federal judge in Virginia, but a higher court reinstated the award in July.

The second lawsuit, which also is covered by Friday’s agreement, was stayed pending the outcome of the first suit.

The settlement allows each company to proceed with the development and sale of its respective product lines, the companies said.

Odetics said it expects proceeds from the settlement to total $60 million after legal expenses and fees. The company did not say how it plans to use the proceeds.

In the last fiscal year ended March 30, Odetics posted a net loss of $20 million on revenue of $83 million.

The settlement was announced after the close of U.S. markets. Odetics’ stock was off 38 cents to $11.13 a share in Nasdaq trading.