Sony Corp. plans to take legal action against Japanese firms that market via the Internet pirated versions of its Memory Stick proprietary flash memory card, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun learned Sunday.
The electronics giant has already identified several firms that use online auction sites to sell Memory Stick imitations made mostly in China and Taiwan, and intends to sue them for infringement on trademark and other rights. Both criminal and civil lawsuits are expected to be filed.
Sony will also demand that auction site operators eliminate sellers engaged in such illegal activities.
Knock-off memory cards are generally sold for about half the retail price of their authentic counterparts, or for about 4,000 yen to 10,000 yen, depending on storage capacity. Damages from fake products are estimated at tens of millions of yen in Japan alone, according to Sony.
The company plans to pursue similar action in the U.S. and Europe as well.
(from Nikkei Net Interactive)
