July 12, 2004 Sony Corp., the world's second- biggest consumer electronics maker, is accused of infringing patents for digital cameras and hand-held computers by Ampex Corp., which is seeking to block imports of the devices.

Ampex, a Redwood City, California-based company that makes recording devices and digital image processors, said it filed the complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission. The Washington-based agency can block the importation of goods found to infringe U.S. patents.

Ampex also said it filed a lawsuit in U.S. court in Wilmington, Delaware, seeking damages. The company said it's been in ``active negotiations'' with Tokyo-based Sony and other makers of digital still cameras, seeking royalties. In May, Ampex sued Sanyo Electric Co., the world's biggest maker of digital cameras.

In a statement, Ampex said it ``may seek to enforce its patents by instituting additional litigation against other manufacturers if licensing agreements are not completed in the near future.''

Officials with Sony Electronics in California couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. is the world's largest maker of consumer electronics.

Ampex shares rose 15 cents to $2.05 as of 9:55 a.m. New York time in over-the-counter trading. Sony's American depositary receipts, each representing one ordinary share, rose 3 cents to $36.98 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. - Source Bloomberg