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General Patent and Acticon Technologies Settle Patent Infringement Suit with National Instruments |
Suffern, NY, May 9, 2002 - General Patent Corporation International (GPCI) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Acticon Technologies LLC (Acticon), have recently settled its lawsuit with National Instruments Corporation of Austin, TX (NASDAQ: NATI) regarding two of the "smart connector" patents owned by Acticon. National Instruments brought a declaratory judgment suit against Acticon and GPCI in June of 2001, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, seeking to have Acticon's "smart connector" patents declared invalid and not infringed. The parties have reached an amicable resolution of this dispute, which resulted in National Instruments withdrawing its action against Acticon and GPCI, and taking a license under the patents-in-suit. As part of the settlement, National Instruments stipulated that the patents-in-suit are valid, enforceable and infringed. National Instruments and Acticon had been engaged in licensing discussions prior to initiation of the lawsuit. "We are pleased with this settlement," said Alexander Poltorak, GPCI's chairman and CEO. "National Instruments sought to invalidate our patents, but ultimately agreed that the patents are valid and infringed, and took a license under the patents," he added. William Parrish of Jenkens & Gilchrist, lead counsel in this case, remarked that, "General Patent Corporation is well prepared and resolute about defending and enforcing their IP rights. Infringers are well advised to take a license and avoid expensive litigation." Acticon's "smart connector" patents cover specific aspects of PC cards and other "smart connector" devices used in mobile computer communication, networking and instrumentation control. More than 90% of the PC cards sold in the United States today are licensed under the Acticon patents. GPCI has successfully represented Acticon in 45 licensing transactions and eleven litigations. |