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austriamicrosystems Confirms Validity of Court Decision in Patent Infringement Lawsuit against Melexis, is Confident to Prevail in Appeal of First-Instance Patentability Decision
Monday, December 20, 2010
Unterpremstaetten, Austria -- austriamicrosystems (SIX: AMS) today confirmed that the first-instance verdict in the patent infringement lawsuit against Melexis N.V. / SA (Belgium) and its German subsidiary Melexis GmbH before the District Court (Landgericht) in Duesseldorf (Germany) regarding magnetic field encoder products and European Patent EP 0 916 074 B1 remains valid. At the same time, austriamicrosystems expects to ultimately prevail against the first-instance decision by the Federal Patent Court (Bundespatentgericht) in Munich (Germany) which deems the European Patent EP 0 916 074 B1 covering magnetic field encoder products and exclusively held by austriamicrosystems to be not patentable.
austriamicrosystems will appeal the court’s decision at the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) in Karlsruhe (Germany) after the first-instance court’s decision has been issued in writing. austriamicrosystems is confident to prevail in this next and final instance and to have the patent fully validated by the court.
austriamicrosystems emphasizes that this recent development has no impact on its current and future business. As the first-instance decision by the Federal Patent Court remains legally non-binding until the appeal has been decided, Melexis will, however, continue to carry the risk of financial damages for patent infringement being awarded to austriamicrosystems after positive decision of the appeal.
austriamicrosystems is the worldwide leader in high resolution ICs with magnetic field sensors, offering a broad range of rotary and linear encoders. Providing robust, contactless position measurement, magnetic field encoders from austriamicrosystems are ideally suited for virtually countless applications in industrial, automotive and consumer electronics.
About austriamicrosystems
austriamicrosystems is a leading designer and manufacturer of high performance analog ICs, combining almost 30 years of analog design capabilities and system know-how with its own state-of-the-art manufacturing and test facilities. austriamicrosystems leverages its expertise in low power and high accuracy to provide industry-leading standard and customized analog products. Operating worldwide with more than 1,000 employees, austriamicrosystems focuses on the areas of power management, sensors and sensor interfaces and mobile infotainment in its markets Consumer & Communications, Industry & Medical and Automotive, complemented by its Full Service Foundry activities. austriamicrosystems is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich (ticker: AMS).
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