Santa Ana (CA) – Don’t you just love it when tech companies bash heads? Flash drive maker STEC isn’t taking Seagate’s patent lawsuit lying down and the company’s Chairman and CEO vows a lengthy court battle. In a press release, STEC’s Mannouch Moshayedi says the suit is “completely without merit” and that he’ll seek to invalidate some of Seagate’s patents.

Moshayedi says STEC was one of the first companies to build solid-state drives, “long before” Seagate applied for or acquired any of the patents in question. In the suit, Seagate is trying to enforce almost half-a-dozen patents, but STEC claims to have patented some of the same patents more than a decade before Seagate. “STEC was one of the originators of stacking technology with patents dating back to the mid-1990s, while Seagate’s patent on this matter was issued in 2005,” said Moshayedi.

He adds that Seagate’s suit appears to be “primarily motivated by competitive concerns rather than a desire to protect its intellectual property.”

STEC appears ready to vigorously fight Seagate, but is also will to unleash some legal fury of its own by determining if Seagate is misappropriating any of its technologies. “STEC will take appropriate action to protect its interests, including seeking the invalidation of Seagate’s patents,” said Moshayedi. So take that Seagate.

You can read STEC’s entire response here.