SyQuest sues Nomai, Iomega flies high

SyQuest has been in a tailspin for a while now, while the company it once dwarfed can seemingly do no wrong. In the latest chapter of the Shakesperean tragedy, the loss-making Californian company today filed suit against French firm Nomai for patent, copyright, and trademark infringements relating to alleged unauthorised sales of SyQuest drives. In November 1996, Nomai declined a purchase offer by SyQuest, its partner in the Power Disk Cartridge standard for removable Winchester drives.

Iomega meanwhile continues to ride a spectacular financial wave. For its October-December fourth quarter, the company more than doubled its year earlier revenues and profits, making a $20.4 million profit on earnings of $397 million. For the year, net profit was $57.3 million on $1.2 billion in revenues, a staggering 272 per cent growth. Iomega claims to have sold over 4 million Zip drives.