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Technology Stocks : CFM Technologies Inc. (CFMT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SemiBull who wrote (574)	11/9/1999 7:40:00 PM
From: Duker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 721

SemiBull, ....but dreaming is allowed if you know you are dreaming. :~) Cosmic. <g> --Duker

To: SemiBull who wrote (574)	11/9/1999 7:47:00 PM
From: Duker	Respond to of 721

CFM's patent claims against Steag upheld; Steag plans appeal semibiznews.com Semiconductor Business News (11/09/99, 02:07:17 PM EDT) EXTON, Pa. -- A U.S. District Court has granted a motion filed by CFM Technologies Inc. here upholding an earlier judgment that found Steag MicroTech AG guilty of infringing CFM's patent for wafer-drying technology. As a result, the permanent injunction against Steag remains in place, CFM said today. The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware denied Steag's motion to vacate the injunction. Late today, Steag said it will appeal the ruling. "We are pleased that the court has not wavered in its judgment on this matter, and we will not waver in our determination to protect our rights to this technology, said Roger A. Carolin, president and chief executive officer of CFM, based in Exton. ?The appellate court indicated in its remand that it believed the district court was in the best position to decide this matter.? CFM won a jury award of $3.1 million for patent infringement by Steag MicroTec in nearly two years ago (see Dec. 15, 1997, story). Steag appealed in June 1998 and challenged CFM's patent on a technical issue. This past May, the Court of Appeals ruled against the jury verdict on the grounds that it was not well substantiated. The case was then sent back to the district court for resolution. Since the initial ruling, the amount of damages has increased because Steag continued to ship products infringing on CFM's U.S. patent, said the Exton company. Interest on damages also continued to accrue during this period, according to CFM. ?Steag may elect to take this one narrow issue back to the appellate court for another review, [but] we believe it is highly unlikely that such an appeal will change the outcome of this case,? Carolin said. ?While we hope that Steag will reach a similar conclusion and put an end to further wasteful litigation, we remain fully committed to taking every step necessary to protect the company's rights." CFM has filed similar suits against YieldUP International Inc. and Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (see Jan. 4 story). Johannes Brinkmann, president of Steag Electronic Systems Inc., the San Jose-based U.S. subsidiary, said, "We are extremely disappointed with the court ruling in favor of CFM, especially in light of the appellate court's support of our position. As such, we will appeal the district court's verdict once again to protect our intellectual property rights. We will also ask the courts for an immediate stay of the injunction while we wait for the final ruling from the appeals court. ?Aside from the obvious concern of not being able to sell our Marangoni dryer in the United States, we believe that this decision ultimately hurts all United States IC, wafer and disk manufacturers,? Brinkmann continued. The ruling does not affect Steag's ability to perform warranty and repair work or sell spare parts for the Marangoni dryer in the United States. The German company is challenging CFM's patent claims in Europe and, CFM has withdrawn the patent from protection in the U.K.