IOMEGA GRANTED PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AGAINST SALE OF SYQUEST
7/7/98 17:13
SparQ Cartridges in France
Business Editors/Computer Writers
ROY, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 7, 1998--Iomega Corp. ("the
Company") (NYSE:IOM) Tuesday announced that on Friday, July 3, 1998,
the Paris District Court ruled in its favor, granting the Company's
request for a preliminary injunction against SyQuest Technology Inc.
(NASDAQ:SYQT) and its French subsidiary SyQuest SARL.
The preliminary injunction requested by Iomega asked the Court to
prevent the import and sale of SyQuest's SparQ(TM) cartridge in France
because it infringed on one of Iomega's recently granted European
patents.
Based on Iomega's demonstration that the SyQuest SparQ cartridges
infringed on the European patent covering the anti-rattle mechanism
found in Iomega's Jaz(R) cartridges, the Paris District Court Judge
ordered SyQuest to pay Iomega a damage penalty of 15,000 FF
(US$2,500), for certain legal costs and to pay Iomega a 100 FF penalty
(US $16.50) for each SparQ cartridge it sells after the injunction
takes effect.
"This is another important demonstration of Iomega's intellectual
property strength," said James E. Sierk, president and chief executive
officer, Iomega Corp. "Iomega's proprietary technologies are among our
greatest assets. We are very pleased with the French Court's swift
recognition of our intellectual property rights and SyQuest's
infringement on them. We are particularly pleased that the Court chose
to penalize the infringer."
Iomega's preliminary injunction request also sought to enjoin
import and sale of SyQuest's SparQ cartridge into the United Kingdom,
Germany and Italy. The French Court did not grant this portion of the
request. Iomega is not aware of any French Court having yet granted
any party such pan-European relief in an intellectual property case.
Iomega Corp. manufactures personal read/write storage solutions
that help people manage their stuff -- anywhere. Iomega's products
provide consumers with what they want, when they want it, at a
reasonable price.
The Company's storage solutions, designed for all types of
computer users, include Zip(R) drives and genuine Zip(R) 100 disks;
Jaz(R) one- and two-gigabyte drives and disks; and Ditto(TM) tape
backup drives and tape cartridges. Whether used in homes, business,
government and education, or by creative professionals, all Iomega
storage solutions ensure high levels of quality and reliability when
using authorized Iomega media products.
Iomega products are available through computer retail stores,
resellers, major distributors and OEMs. The Company can be reached at
800/MY-STUFF (800/697-8833), or on the Web at iomega.com.
Additional Iomega press releases can be accessed through the toll-free
fax-back line: (888/88-IOMEGA).
Note to Editors: Iomega, Zip, Jaz, and the stylized "i" logo are
registered trademarks of and Ditto is a trademark of, Iomega Corp. All
other products and brand names are the property of their respective
owners. For maximum reliability, use only genuine Zip 100 disks
featuring the genuine Zip 100 symbol in your Zip drive.
--30--kjs/ix*
CONTACT: Iomega Corp., Roy
Wendy Foster, 801/778-3261
fosterw@iomega.com
Tyler Thatcher, 801/778-4362 (Analysts/Investors)
thatcher@iomega.com
or
Abernathy MacGregor Frank
Ann Hance, 212/371-5999
amh@abmac.com
Jason Thompson, 212/371-5999
jft@abmac.com |
