Cognex Ends Patent Lawsuit against Electro Scientific Industries, Inc.

NATICK, Mass. -- Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX), the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems, announced today that Electro Scientific Industries (ESI) has entered into a settlement and license agreement with Cognex. The settlement resolves a dispute relating to ESI's alleged infringement of Cognex's U.S. Patent 5,371,690, filed in the US District Court, District of Massachusetts in February 2001.

Under the settlement agreement, Cognex has granted ESI a license to the patent in dispute, as well as certain covenants not to sue under various other surface mount placement equipment-related patents. In consideration, ESI has agreed to pay Cognex an undisclosed license fee. The agreement also allows for the possibility of a future business relationship between the parties by which Electro-Scientific may purchase Cognex machine vision products.

Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets machine vision systems, or computers that can "see." Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped to date more than 225,000 machine vision systems, representing over $1.6 Billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. Cognex's Modular Vision Systems Division, headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, specializes in machine vision systems which are used for automating the manufacture of a wide range of discrete items and for assuring their quality. Cognex's Surface Inspection Systems Division, headquartered in Alameda, California, specializes in machine vision systems, also known as web inspection systems, which are used for inspecting the surfaces of products manufactured in a continuous fashion, such as metals, paper, and plastics. In addition to its corporate headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, Cognex also has regional offices located throughout North America, Japan, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Visit Cognex on-line at http://www.cognex.com.