A California federal jury determined that the data-storage company violated two of Suess' patents, which enhance hard drive storage capacity, and awarded MR Technologie $262.3 million.

The tech involved were methods that increase the signal-to-noise ratio in an HDD by using anisotropy magnetic effects to help bits change direction. The lawsuit alleged that several of Western Digital's drive products contained technology that infringed the patented techniques.

MRT's lawyers reportedly accused WD of misusing these methods, which allowed it to increase areal density on the HDDs in question from 300 Gbit/sq in to 1,000 Gbit/sq in.  They claimed that it was a significant breakthrough in HD technology.

Western Digital announced plans to appeal the verdict, stating it would do so "as soon as possible."

MRT filed the lawsuit in 2022, accusing Western Digital of incorporating patented data-storage improvements into several hard-drive products. During closing arguments, the company argued that these inventions contributed to Western Digital's market competitiveness.

Western Digital countered that its technology differed from Suess' patents and claimed the patents were invalid. Attorney Douglas Lumish argued that MRT's legal team had unfairly credited Suess for the work of thousands of Western Digital engineers over many years.