Bad news, this just in:
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 18, 1997--Ampex Corp. today announced that Judge Roderick McKelvie of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has granted the post-trial motion of Mitsubishi Electric Corp. to set aside the jury's earlier verdict awarding damages to Ampex, based on the defendant's theory of "prosecution history estoppel."
As previously reported, on April 10, 1997, the jury in this case found that Mitsubishi had infringed one of Ampex's patents in connection with the manufacturing of picture-in-picture television receivers, and awarded damages of $8.1 million. The judge ruled that the manner in which the jury had completed its verdict form subjected Ampex's charge of infringement to the defense of prosecution history estoppel, based on which he entered judgment on behalf of Mitsubishi. Ampex is planning to appeal this judgment or to move for a retrial.
An Ampex representative said: "We are disappointed that the court felt constrained to rule against us on the estoppel issue, but we are gratified that the rulings in this case support Ampex's contentions that, although many of our patents relating to video signal processing resulted from inventions in video recorders and related electronics, these patents are equally applicable to other products, such as televisions, where the inventions may be in use today."
The judgment applies only to one of the company's patents which is used in picture-in-picture television sets. Ampex has asserted additional infringement claims against Mitsubishi with respect to infringement of Ampex patents in connection with various VCR products. No date has been set for a trial of these claims.
As previously disclosed, no income from the jury's earlier damage award has been recorded in the company's financial statements.
Ampex Corp., with headquarters in Redwood City, is one of the world's leading innovators in the fields of magnetic recording, image processing and high-performance digital storage. Currently, Ampex is focusing its technology on the emerging market for mass digital storage in the visual information age. During its 53-year history of innovation, Ampex has been granted thousands of patents and has earned numerous awards for technical achievement. Today, Ampex customers include numerous well-known organizations such as AT&T, Boeing, Mobil Oil, Time Warner and NASA.
Any statements contained herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and involve risks and uncertainties. Information on potential factors which could affect the company's actual results of operations are included in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 1996, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 1997. |
