Spansion Files Patent Suit Against Samsung

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Spansion (SPSN Quote) wants to block U.S. sales of iPods, BlackBerry gadgets and other devices because memory chips made by Samsung Electronics and used in those products allegedly violate Spansion patents.

Spansion, the world's No. 3 maker of flash memory chips by revenue, sued South Korea's Samsung on Monday. Spansion claims more than "100 million mp3 players, cell phones, digital cameras and other consumer electronic devices" are made with Samsung flash memory chips that violate Spansion patents.

Samsung is the world's biggest memory-chip maker. Flash memory chips are widely used in portable electronics. They're popular because they access data quickly, require little power and are rugged enough to withstand drops without losing information. ...