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AnonymousInactivehttp://members.whattheythink.com/news/index.cfm?id=40976
EFI’s PATENT LITIGATION VICTORY ON
INKJET TECHNOLOGY
FOSTER CITY,
Calif. — Electronics For Imaging, Inc., a world leader in
customer-focused digital printing innovation, and its superwide format
printer unit VUTEk today announced total victory in patent litigation
with Leggett & Platt (L&P) involving EFI’s ultra-violet (UV) ink
curing technology.After a string of successful summary judgment
motions, one of which was affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit, EFI has reached a non-confidential settlement with
L&P that does not require any payment from EFI to L&P. L&P
dismissed all of its claims against EFI and promised not to sue EFI or
any of its customers based on a claim that EFI products infringe any of
the patents-in-suit or any related patent.L&P first filed
the lawsuit in May 2005 against VUTEk during EFI’s acquisition of the
innovative superwide format printer business. L&P claimed that its
patent (U.S. Patent No. 6,755,518) covered VUTEk’s technology. From the
outset EFI maintained that VUTEk invented and patented the technologies
first (U.S. Patent Nos. 6,457,823 and 6,616,355). The US District Court
in St. Louis agreed with EFI, invalidating all of L&P’s asserted
patent claims and ordering L&P to pay EFI’s costs to defend the
lawsuit. The US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that
conclusion in its entirety. In July 2009, the US District Court held
that a second L&P patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,290,874) is also invalid
in light of EFI’s patents and printer design technology.On
April 21, 2009, L&P sued EFI again, alleging infringement of a third
L&P patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,520,602). As with the two other
patents, EFI moved for summary judgment to invalidate this third patent
using the same prior art previously relied upon by the court. Faced with
the very real possibility of losing a third patent, L&P approached
EFI to settle the dispute. Under the settlement, EFI will pay nothing,
agreeing to dismiss its claims that the ‘602 patent is invalid and to
not oppose L&P’s motion to vacate the July 2009 decision
invalidating the ‘874 patent. L&P dismissed all claims against EFI
and promised not to sue EFI or its customers under these patents or any
related patent.”We are very pleased with this result. A settlement like
this-with a patent plaintiff walking away with no payment whatsoever-is
rare in modern patent litigation,” said EFI’s General Counsel Bryan Ko.
“This settlement establishes conclusively what we’ve maintained all
along: that EFI invented and patented this technology first.” -
AuthorNovember 17, 2009 at 10:22 AM
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