Applied Materials reports jury verdict that Novellus infringes patent; Applied Materials will seek injunction.SANTA CLARA Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 1997--Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :AMAT AMAT Applied Materials (stock symbol) AMAT Average Memory Access Time AMAT Automatic Message Accounting Transmitter AMAT Anti-Materiel (bomb or mine) AMAT Ageing Management Assessment Team ) today announced that a jury in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa has decided that a fundamental CVD CVD Cardiovascular disease, see there (chemical vapor deposition Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a chemical process used to produce high-purity, high-performance solid materials. The process is often used in the semiconductor industry to produce thin films. ) process patent for depositing dielectric (insulating) layers between metal layers of a semiconductor chip using TEOS TEOS Tetraethylorthosilicate TEOS Tetra Ethyl Oxysilane TEOS Trusted E-Mail Open Standard chemistries which is owned by Applied Materials is valid, enforceable and infringed by Novellus Systems, Inc. The jury reached its verdict today after a three-week trial on liability issues. Applied Materials will immediately seek an injunction to enforce the jury's verdict and to halt sales by Novellus of its infringing Concept 1, Concept 2 (Sequel) and Maxus systems. The jury found that Applied Materials' patent, U.S. Patent No. 5,362,526 to David N.K. Wang, et al., entitled "Plasma-Enhanced CVD Process Using TEOS for Depositing Silicon Oxide" was valid and infringed by systems sold by Novellus. The patent will expire in 2007. Because the trial was divided into separate phases, the jury's verdict reached only the issue of Novellus' liability for infringement of the patent. A second trial to determine the amount of damages Novellus owes to Applied Materials will follow promptly. Joseph J. Sweeney, vice president of Legal Affairs and Intellectual Property for Applied Materials, stated, "We are extremely pleased with the jury's verdict, which recognizes the uniqueness and value of Applied Materials' patented TEOS process. Applied Materials will continue vigorously to enforce our intellectual property rights against competitors who have improperly used our patented inventions. We look forward to further proceedings to determine the amount of damages owed to Applied Materials by Novellus for this infringement." Applied Materials, Inc. is a Fortune 500 global growth company and the world's largest supplier of wafer fabrication systems and services to the global semiconductor industry. Applied Materials is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol "AMAT." Applied Materials' website is http://www.AppliedMaterials.com . CONTACT: Applied Materials, Inc. Shannon Fryhoff (editorial/media), 408/986-7229 Jerry Taylor (financial), 408/748-5227 |
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