Target Technology has sued Sony for violating a patent it holds on reflective layers used in optical storage media, according to Ars Technica. Target Technology's complaint doesn't tell exactly how Blu-ray infringes on its patents and it's unlikely that the lawsuit will affect Blu-ray in any significant way. One option may be for Sony and other Blu-ray backers to use a different technology.

Target Technology's complaint doesn't go into detail on exactly how Blu-ray infringes on its patents, but it alleges that all Blu-ray discs manufactured, sold, and marketed by Sony are infringing. Target Technologies is demanding a jury trial, a declaration that the patents are valid and enforceable, damages, and an injunction barring Sony from future infringement.

Like most companies in the consumer entertainment industry, Sony is no stranger to patent-infringement lawsuits. Sony and Kodak recently settled a long-running dispute over 10 Kodak patents related to digital cameras. Just a couple of months ago, Sony settled with Immersion over its use of Immersion's force-feedback technology in the PlayStation 2 controllers, a dispute that arguably played a factor in the absence of force feedback in the SIXAXIS PS3 controller.

Source: Ars Technica