Wow, ESI getting hit just now. There is new aboout the patent suit with General Scanning. Looks like it's not bad. Am I missing something? Mark
Electro Scientific Industries Announces Court Orders Relating to Patent Infringement Litigation
PR Newswire, Monday, July 12, 1999 at 09:34
PORTLAND, Ore., July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESIO) announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has issued orders denying the motions of General Scanning Inc. of Watertown, Massachusetts for a new trial. The court orders, filed July 8, 1999, also denied GSI's requests to set aside the $13.1 million jury verdict against General Scanning Inc. awarded on April 8, 1999 in ESI's patent infringement suit over its U.S. Patent 5,265,114 entitled "System and Method for Selectively Laser Processing a Target Structure of One or More Materials of a Multimaterial, Multilayer Device."
The court also entered a permanent injunction prohibiting General Scanning Inc., and its subsidiaries and parent corporations, from "making, using, selling or offering for sale in the United States memory repair systems equipped with 1.3 micron lasers, including, but not limited to, General Scanning's M320 and M325 systems with 1.3 micron lasers, 'upgrade kits' which include 1.3 micron lasers, and colorable variations of these memory repair systems and upgrade kits which infringe" the claims in suit of ESI's '114 patent.
The lawsuit (Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. v. General Scanning Inc., No. C-96-4268 SBA) alleged that GSI infringed certain claims of ESI's '114 patent. On April 2, 1999, the federal court jury issued a verdict upholding the validity of ESI's pioneering link blowing patent. On April 8, 1999, the jury awarded ESI $13.1 million in damages. The jury also concluded that General Scanning's infringement was willful.
The patented technology is used in ESI's advanced laser repair systems, which produce 64 and 256 megabit memory chips and semiconductors with embedded memory. The systems are enabling technology for the next generation of semiconductor yield improvement and the most advanced laser repair systems available on the market. The systems feature patented laser system technology, operating at a wavelength of 1.3 microns, and offer semiconductor manufacturers a much wider process window and higher yields than systems using conventional 1.047 laser technology.
General Scanning Inc. merged with Lumonics Inc. of Kanata, Ontario on March 22, 1999 to form GSI Lumonics Inc. (NASDAQ:GLSI).
Statements in this press release may include forward looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ, either better or worse, from those discussed. Such risks and uncertainties are numerous and are identified in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and interim reports on Form 10-Q.
About ESI
ESI, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, designs and manufactures sophisticated products used around the world in electronics manufacturing including: laser manufacturing systems for semiconductor yield improvement; production and test equipment for the manufacture of surface mount ceramic capacitors; laser trim systems for precise electrical tuning of circuits; precision laser and mechanical drilling systems for electronic interconnection; and machine vision systems. Electro Scientific Industries is traded on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol, "ESIO." ESI's web site is esi.com.
SOURCE Electro Scientific Industries, Inc.
GSI Lumonics Inc. Announces Court Ruling on Damages in ESI Patent Case
PR Newswire, Monday, July 12, 1999 at 08:39
KANATA, Ontario, Canada, July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- GSI Lumonics Inc. (NASDAQ:GSLI; Toronto: LSI) today announced that a federal district court judge has reached rulings on several post-trial matters relating to a patent infringement trial between General Scanning and Electro Scientific Industries (NASDAQ:ESIO). General Scanning prevailed on several key rulings in its case with ESI. The Court refused ESI's request to increase damages awarded by a jury in April and refused ESI's request for attorney fees. The Court also affirmed the jury's decision to invalidate one of the two patents asserted by ESI in the case. The Court enjoined General Scanning and its affiliates from infringing the second patent which the jury did not invalidate. As expected the Court granted interest on the damages.
While the District Court declined General Scanning's request to overturn the jury's decision on damages, and the jury's decision not to invalidate the second patent, General Scanning will appeal those decisions. General Scanning believes that ESI did not prove its case for infringement or damages, and that the jury erred in not finding the second patent invalid as well.
GSI Lumonics said it was pleased that the court did not increase damages or award ESI legal fees. The company also said that its future memory repair business is unaffected by the court's decisions and that its new product for the next generation devices will be released later this year.
GSI Lumonics was formed on March 22, 1999 through a merger between General Scanning Inc. of Watertown, MA and Lumonics Inc. of Kanata, ON.
GSI Lumonics Inc. brings laser-based automated advanced manufacturing systems, instrumentation and components to leading industrial companies worldwide. The Company supplies products and service to the semiconductor, electronics, medical, automotive, aerospace and consumer packaging markets. GSI Lumonics' common shares are listed on Nasdaq and The Toronto Stock Exchange. The Company's web site address is www.gsilumonics.com.
For further information: Fran Crecco Investor Relations 978-439-5511 (ext:6104)
To the extent this news release discusses financial projections, information or expectations about GSI Lumonics Inc., General Scanning Inc., or Lumonics Inc., products or markets, or otherwise makes statements about the future, such statements are forward looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. The factors include the fact that the companies' sales have been and are expected to continue to be dependent upon customer capital equipment expenditures, which are, in turn, affected by business cycles in the markets served by those customers. Other factors include continued volatility in Asia and in the semiconductor industry, the risk of order delays and cancellations, the risk of delays by customers in introducing their new products and market acceptance of products incorporating subsystems supplied by the companies, similar risks to the companies of delays in their new products and other risks detailed in the companies' Annual Reports and Quarterly Reports.
SOURCE GSI Lumonics Inc.
-0- 07/12/99
/CONTACT: Fran Crecco, Investor Relations of GSI Lumonics Inc., 978-439-5511, ext, 6104/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 107189/
/Web site: gsilumonics.com |
