Hitachi

1. Dell Targets Hitachi, Toshiba In TFT-LCD Antitrust Case

Monday, Mar 15, 2010

Dell Inc. has accused Hitachi Ltd., Toshiba Corp. and three other technology companies of conspiring to artificially inflate prices of thin film transistor liquid crystal display panels, the latest addition to multidistrict litigation alleging a massive price-fixing scheme.

2. Dell Escapes Suit Over DVD Parental Control Patent

Thursday, Mar 11, 2010

Digital Choice of Texas LLC has dropped its infringement suit against Dell Inc. over a patent for parental control technology in DVD players.

3. Sony, Others Fixed Prices On Disk Drives: Suit

Thursday, Feb 25, 2010

A direct purchaser of optical disk drives has lodged a putative class action against Sony Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and other technology giants, saying they colluded to fix prices and used trade organization forums as a guise for meeting to discuss agreements to keep disk drive prices artificially high.

4. Micron Unit Dropped From Suit Over Memory Patents

Thursday, Feb 25, 2010

Ring Technology Enterprises of Texas LLC has agreed to drop a unit of semiconductor maker Micron Technology Inc. from a suit accusing more than a dozen companies — including Sun Microsystems Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM Corp. — of infringing a patent for memory device technology.

5. DRAM Makers To Face Antitrust Claims In EU

Wednesday, Feb 03, 2010

European antitrust regulators are reportedly poised to accuse 10 memory chip producers of fixing prices in the market for dynamic random access memory, including Samsung Electronics Co., Infineon Technologies AG and Elpida Memory Inc.

6. Motorola, AT&T Join LCD Screen Antitrust MDL

Monday, Feb 01, 2010

Motorola Inc. and AT&T Mobility LLC have lashed out at Sharp Electronics Corp., Epson Electronics America Inc. and other manufacturers of thin film transistor liquid crystal display panels in multidistrict litigation alleging a massive price-fixing scheme in which the TFT-LCD manufacturers overcharged the plaintiffs for the LCD screens used in many popular cell phones.

7. SRAM Direct Purchasers Reach $25M In Settlements

Friday, Jan 22, 2010

Micron Technology Inc., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., NEC Electronics and several other defendants in the ongoing static random access memory multidistrict litigation have agreed to settle the direct purchasers' price-fixing claims against them for a combined $25 million.

8. Huge Antitrust Fines Reflect Regulators' Bold Stance

Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010

A look at the top 10 fines levied on each side of the Atlantic in the past year reveals the increasingly aggressive enforcement stance of regulators.

9. Philips Drops Set-Top Box NAFTA Refund Spat

Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010

Philips Electronics North America Corp. has dropped its case challenging U.S. Customs and Border Protection's decision that set-top boxes the electronics giant imported from Mexico did not qualify to receive preference under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

10. Ardebili Accomplice Pleads Guilty To Export Violation

Monday, Dec 21, 2009

An accomplice of Amir Hossein Ardebili, the Iranian arms trafficker who last week was sentenced to five years in prison for illegally purchasing and exporting dual-use military items to Iran, has pled guilty to violating federal law by attempting to export two pieces of controlled camera equipment to that country.

11. Appro, Nexcom Settle In Acqis Blade Server IP Suit

Thursday, Dec 17, 2009

Computer manufacturers Appro International Inc. and Nex Computers Inc. have become the latest defendants to settle Acqis LLC's suit accusing 11 companies — including Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp. and Dell Inc. — of infringing several patents related to blade server technology.

12. Chi Mei To Pay $220M After Copping To LCD Price-Fixing

Thursday, Dec 10, 2009

Taiwan-based Chi Mei Optoelectronics has pled guilty and agreed to pay $220 million in criminal fines for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices of liquid crystal display panels.

13. Hitachi Hopes To Rake In $3.9B With Stock Sale

Monday, Dec 07, 2009

Technology and electronics giant Hitachi Ltd., which is facing an annual loss for the fourth consecutive year, said Monday that it planned to raise up to 349.3 billion yen ($3.9 billion) through a public share offering and a convertible bond issue.

14. Nokia Accuses Samsung, Others Of LCD Price-Fixing

Tuesday, Dec 01, 2009

Nokia Corp. has become the latest cell phone maker to lodge an antitrust suit against a slew of liquid crystal display panel manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Toshiba Corp., claiming they engaged in a long-running conspiracy to fix prices.

15. Hitachi Must Pay $9M Arbitration In Power Plant Spat

Wednesday, Nov 25, 2009

A federal judge has decided not to throw out an $8.6 million arbitration award given to construction and engineering firm Aker Kvaerner Songer Inc. by Hitachi America Ltd. in a contract dispute over the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

16. Volvo Appeals Health Benefit Case To Supreme Court

Wednesday, Nov 25, 2009

Volvo Construction Equipment North America Inc. is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court a decision ordering its construction equipment subsidiary to continue providing lifetime health insurance benefits to a class of retirees.

17. Hitachi Plans To Raise $4.6B In Securities Offerings

Monday, Nov 16, 2009

Japan's Hitachi Ltd. said Monday it planned to raise up to $4.6 billion in securities offerings to fund its capital expenditures, make investments and reduce its debt, as it faces an annual loss for the fourth consecutive year.

18. Hitachi's Patent Suit Puts FEI Under The Microscope

Friday, Nov 13, 2009

Electron microscope supplier FEI Co. has disclosed a lawsuit in which a unit of Hitachi Ltd. accused it of infringing several patents that pertain to micro-sampling technology.

19. Panasonic Unit Challenges JFTC Order Over CRTs

Monday, Nov 09, 2009

Panasonic Corp. subsidiary MT Picture Display Co. Ltd. and its overseas subsidiaries have filed for a hearing to challenge cease-and-desist and surcharge payment orders issued against them by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission in connection with the sale of cathode ray tubes.

20. Mitsubishi Reaches Patent Deal With NYC Prof

Thursday, Nov 05, 2009

Mitsubishi Corp. apparently opted for an out-of-court settlement with a retired New York City professor over the alleged infringement of patented light-emitting diode technology, shortly after the professor resolved a wide-ranging dispute before the U.S. International Trade Commission over the same patents.