Two local companies that make disk drives are under investigation for alleged patent infringement by a federal watchdog group.
The International Trade Commission is set to investigate five companies, including Lake Forest’s Western Digital Corp. and Irvine’s Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., a unit of Japan’s Toshiba Corp.
Other companies named include Western Digital rival Seagate Technology Inc. and computer makers Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc, the ITC said in a statement.
The investigation was launched after a complaint filed in September by Steven and Mary Reiber of Lincoln, Calif., about the infringement of patents for particular parts related to electrical wire connections inside disk drives.
The Reibers hold patents for the part, according to tech news Web site IDG.com.
In a suit they filed in Sacramento, the Reibers requested that the ITC issue a ban on imports of disk drives that contain the parts and a permanent cease-and-desist order against the companies.
The ITC has 45 days to set a date for completing the probe, after which an ITC judge will hold a hearing.
