For HD manufacturers, SSD is probably the main challenge to overcome in the coming months and years as many analysts predict SSD will replace plate-based HD in a mid-term future. The reason is also that flash memory manufacturers have been taking the lead of SSD market, and are now ahead when compared to standard HD manufacturers.
Probably as part of a marketing campaign, Seagate CEO recently warned SSD manufacturers for patent infringement if SSD market is really taking off. Indeed, the CEO is convinced that SSD makers like Samsung and Intel are violating Seagate's patents. Most of HD manufacturers own patents related to the ways a storage unit communicates the computer hardware, including all steps. It stands to reason that Seagate will sue if it looks like SSDs could become a real threat.
Seagate already initiated such legal action against a small SSD manufacturer (STEC), probably to easily get a legal decision about this topic. It will then be easy for Seagate to use such judgme
