Swiftech has voluntarily decided to withdraw its H220 liquid cooler from the US market in response to a claim of patent infringement from Asetek's lawyers who say the CPU cooler infringes on its patents, specifically US patents 8,240,362 (the '362 patent) and 8,245,764 (the '764 patent).
According to the company's press release, Swiftech maintains that it does not believe that the H220 infringes "any valid claim of the '362 and '764 patents" and has made the decision to withdraw the cooler to avoid litigation. The release also included a sincere "apology to its US customers for this extraordinary situation" and promised that full technical and warranty support will still be provided for the H220 and that the "product will continue to be sold in other countries."
I want our customers to know and expect with absolute confidence that Swiftech’s resourcefulness will once again be brilliantly demonstrated in the immediate future” - Gabriel Rouchon (Swiftech Chairman and CTA)
Finally, it is worth noting that Asetek filed suits against CoolIT in August 2012 and Cooler Master in January 2013 on similar grounds of patent infringement. Swiftech approached Asestek on June 27, 2013 for a "nonexclusive license for the asserted patents" but was denied on July 12, 2013 after receiving a response from Asetek's legal counsel that the company doesn't offer licenses.
