According to a press release issued yesterday, Lexar has filed a formal complaint with the International Trade Commission to stop Toshiba from importing most designs if its 16, 8, 4, and 1-gigabyte NAND flash chips into the U.S. on the basis that the chips infringe on Lexar patents and trade secrets. NAND units are the basic components most (CF, SD, etc.) removable memory cards, as well and built-in memory in digital cameras. The complaint stems from a lawsuit last year where Lexar proved that Toshiba's chips were based on designs obtained illegally from Lexar when Toshiba invested in the company and gained a seat on the Lexar board. Then a Toshiba board member gained access to the Lexar designs, and then the company promptly vacated its seat on the board and began reinvesting, announcing a partnership with Lexar rival SanDisk. A California jury awarded Lexar $465.4M and an injunction against the sale and manufacture of the Toshiba cards. An appellate court refused to uphold the injunction last fall, however, for procedural reasons. If the ITC grants the injunction, it will affect not only consumers, who will no longer have access to Toshiba/SanDisk chips, but manufactures who rely on SanDisk and Toshiba as OEM suppliers for memory in cameras, PAD, phones and other digital devices.