Seagate announced Monday it has reached a partial settlement with hard-drive maker Cornice on pending patent lawsuits. Under the agreement, Cornice will stop manufacturing products identified in Seagate's complaint, including 1.0GB, 1.5GB and 2.0GB hard drives, by May 31, 2005. Both companies create and sell mini hard drives used in portable digital music players.
The settlement doesn't affect Seagate's pending patent infringement complaint or Cornice's cross-complaint. A trial is still scheduled for June, 2006.