French Appellate Court Lifts Preliminary Injunction Against Nomai in France; Earlier Seizures Against Nomai in France Upheld
ROY, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 1997--Iomega Corp. (NYSE:IOM) announced that the preliminary injunction it had been awarded on June 20, 1997 prohibiting Nomai SA, a French competitor, from duplicating the shape of Iomega's Zip(R) cartridge or Zip cartridge shutter was lifted on Dec. 12, 1997 by a panel of appellate court judges in Paris, France.
The company is evaluating whether to exercise its right to appeal.
The June 20, 1997 injunction was based on an earlier design of Nomai's XHD 100 cartridge, which was subsequently redesigned before its commercial introduction in France in September 1997. As part of the Dec. 12, 1997 decision, Nomai's request to cancel earlier seizures conducted by Iomega against Nomai in France was denied for a second time.
On Sept. 30, 1997 Iomega filed a second action in Paris, France with respect to Nomai's modified cartridge. A hearing on the merits of Iomega's case was held on Nov. 28, 1997 and a court decision is anticipated in late January 1998.
"As we have stated since this litigation began, Iomega plans to vigorously protect and enforce its intellectual property rights," said Kim B. Edwards, Iomega president and chief executive officer. "In addition, it is very important to us," he continued, "to protect our customers against compatibility claims made by Nomai or others which we believe are false."
Iomega has five remaining preliminary injunctions against Nomai and its distributors in the U.K. and Germany, and a temporary restraining order against Nomai, and its U.S. subsidiary, in the U.S.
Still in force are a preliminary injunction against Nomai and its chairman, Marc-Andre Frouin, issued on Oct. 31, 1997, in London, and a temporary restraining order against Nomai issued on Nov. 20, 1997, by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Both orders were issued following judicial hearings during which both parties were represented by legal counsel.
In Germany, Iomega has been awarded four ex parte preliminary injunctions by four separate German courts. The ex parte injunction against Emtec, which is based on the shape of Nomai's initial XHD cartridge, was awarded in August 1997.
The ex parte injunctions against Prutting (MediaCom), Triangel and Boeder, all distributors or proposed distributors of Nomai's XHD cartridge, are based on the false compatibility and trademark infringement claims asserted by Iomega and were awarded on Nov. 14, Nov. 19 and Dec. 12, 1997, respectively. The ex parte injunctions against Emtec and Prutting are being opposed.
Iomega Corp. provides personal computer storage solutions that help people manage their computer stuff anywhere. These solutions include: Zip drives and disks; Jaz(R) one-gigabyte drives and disks; and Ditto(TM) tape backup drives and tape cartridges. Used in homes, business, government and education, and by creative professionals, Iomega storage solutions are available through computer retail stores, resellers and major distributors.
The company can be reached at 800/MY-STUFF (800/697-8833), iomega.com and additional Iomega press releases can be accessed through the toll-free fax-back line: (888/88-IOMEGA). -0- Note to Editors: Iomega, Zip, Jaz, the Iomega Logo and the stylized "i" are registered trademarks of and Ditto is a trademark of, Iomega Corp. All other product and brand names are the property of their respective companies.
--30--bl/sf* ms/sf
CONTACT:
Iomega Corporation
Susan T. Stillings, 801/778-4668
stilling@iomega.com |
