For the past several years MIT and its licensee, Convolve Inc., have been slogging it out in court with one of the world’s biggest computer disc makers–Seagate Technology–for allegedly infringing on three MIT patents for quieter and more energy-efficient disc drives. There are millions of dollars at stake in the case.
However, neither the plaintiff nor the defendant has spent much time on substantive patent issues. Instead, hefty amounts of time and attorneys’ fees have been spent wrestling over attorney-client privilege.
