SAN FRANCISCO  Seagate Technology, the largest maker of computer hard drives, made a pre-emptive strike against an emerging competitor on Monday when it filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing STEC Inc. of patent infringement.

In the suit, Seagate contends that STEC’s solid-state drive products violate four Seagate patents covering how such drives interface with computers.

STEC, based in Santa Ana, Calif., makes solid-state drives for corporations and other large enterprises, a market that Seagate executives have said the company plans to enter this year. The suit was filed in Federal District Court in the Northern District of California.

Patrick Wilkison, vice president of marketing and business development at STEC, said Seagate was clearly feeling threatened by the growing demand for solid-state drives and that it was “defending its turf.” He added that Seagate executives did not contact STEC about infringement before filing the complaint.