HP Loses Patent Ruling in EMC Suit

A Massachusetts jury Monday found that Hewlett-Packard Co.’s data-storage products infringed three EMC Corp. patents.

EMC said it would seek a court order blocking future sales of Hewlett-Packard’s OpenView Continuous Access Storage Appliance, company spokeswoman Anne Pace said. The verdict came after a two-week trial in Worcester, Mass.

EMC sued closely held StorageApps Inc. in 2000, claiming the software used EMC’s patented technology that makes mirror copies of data on systems. Hewlett-Packard bought StorageApps for almost $350 million in 2001.

The suit is separate from dueling lawsuits that Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC and Palo Alto-based Hewlett-Packard have pending over computer data-storage systems. EMC is the world’s biggest maker of data storage software.

A voice-mail message on Hewlett-Packard’s media line wasn’t immediately returned.

Shares of Hewlett-Packard fell 11 cents to $19.50, while EMC fell 15 cents to $10.31, both on the New York Stock Exchange.