Nashua Corporation Announces Opinion and Order in Ricoh Toner Litigation
NASHUA, N.H., Aug. — Nashua Corporation
, a manufacturer and marketer of labels, thermal specialty papers
and imaging products, today announced that on August 2, 2005, the United
States District Court for the District of New Jersey issued an opinion and
order in a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Ricoh Company Ltd. et al.
against Nashua Corporation, Katun Corporation, and General Plastics Industrial
Co. The Court issued summary judgment that one of six Ricoh patents relating
to toner bottles for use in photocopy machines (U.S. Patent No. 6,075,963) was
not invalid as anticipated by certain prior art and was infringed by Nashua
Corporation (“Nashua”). In addition, the Court interpreted disputed terms of
the six patents involved in the lawsuit.
On May 30, 2003 Ricoh Company, Ltd. and affiliated companies filed a
complaint against several defendants, including the largest customer of
Nashua’s Imaging Supplies segment, Katun Corporation, and General Plastics
Industrial Co., a supplier to the Imaging Supplies segment. The complaint
alleged multiple counts of patent infringement, trademark infringement and
unfair competition by the defendants. On October 17, 2003, Ricoh amended the
complaint and added Nashua as an additional co-defendant in the suit. The
allegations arose from the sale and distribution of Ricoh compatible toner
products. In the lawsuit, Ricoh seeks, among other things, damages as a
result of alleged patent infringement, increased damages for willful
infringement, attorney’s fees, and injunctive relief. On April 12, 2005, the
District Court granted the defendants’ summary judgment motion dismissing the
counts related to trademark infringement and unfair competition.
Nashua believes that it is entitled to indemnification from Katun for
monies owed as a result of any judgment rendered against Nashua in this
litigation, including for damages, costs, attorney’s fees and interest, as
well as for monies paid to Ricoh in settlement of the Ricoh litigation,
provided that Katun has consented to the settlement. Nashua and Katun are
each responsible for their own attorney’s fees in connection with the
litigation.
Nashua previously announced that on April 1, 2005 it committed to a plan
to exit the toner and developer business, which is included in its Imaging
Supplies segment, by March 31, 2006.
Andy Albert, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer said: “We
are currently reviewing the Court’s opinion and evaluating its legal and
business impact.”
About Nashua
Nashua Corporation manufactures and markets a wide variety of specialty
imaging products and services to industrial and commercial customers to meet
various print application needs. The Company’s products include thermal
coated papers, pressure-sensitive labels, colored copier papers, bond, point
of sale, ATM and wide format papers, entertainment tickets, as well as toners,
developers, and ribbons for use in imaging devices.
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