Corning Announces Plasma Optical Fibre and Its Affiliates Agree to Halt Import of Certain Optical Fiber Into The U.S. and United Kingdom.

CORNING, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 1998--Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) today announced the resolution of legal actions Corning took against Plasma Optical Fibre B.V. (POF), of Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and two of its affiliates: Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Co., Ltd. (YOFC) of Wuhan, China and Chromatic Technologies, Inc. (CTI) of Franklin, Massachusetts. The parties have entered into a settlement agreement concerning the actions. Terms were not disclosed.

The settlement will result in two consent orders being issued, one by the U.S. International Trade Commission and the other by the High Court of Justice in the United Kingdom. Both orders affirm that Corning's U.S. Patent 4,792,347 and U.K. Patent 0261772 covering a process of applying a protective coating to optical fiber are valid and enforceable.

An ITC Judge has issued his determination that the Commission's investigation be terminated and a proposed consent order entered. In particular, the ITC order will set forth that POF, CTI, and YOFC acknowledge the U.S. patent's validity. Additionally, the three companies will agree in the consent order that in the future they will not, without Corning's consent, import into the United States, sell for importation into the United States, or sell within the United States after importation any optical fiber manufactured using Corning's patented process. In the order to be issued from the High Court of Justice in the United Kingdom, POF will also agree not to import into the United Kingdom fiber made by Corning's patented process.

In commenting on the resolutions, Corning's Senior Vice President for Opto-electronics, Wendell Weeks stated, "We are pleased that the validity of this patent has been upheld in such an expedient and unquestionable manner. Corning is committed to asserting its legal rights to preserve and protect its highly valued intellectual property. The company did so in this instance and will continue to take appropriate action whenever we become aware of possible patent violations."

Established in 1851, Corning Incorporated creates leading-edge technologies for the fastest-growing segments of the world's economy. Corning manufactures optical fiber, cable and components, high-performance glass and components for television, and other electronic displays for communications and communications related-industries. Corning also manufactures advanced materials for scientific and environmental markets. Corning's total revenues in 1997 were $3.5 billion. More information on Corning is available at http://www.corning.com Investor Relations contact: Katherine Dietz [phone] Editor's note: An electronic copy of this release, as well as the following accompanying visuals, are available on Corning's web site (http://www.corningfiber.com): --

Corning corporate logo -- Artistic shot of optical fiber -- Photo of Corning optical fiber reel -- Historical photo of the three Corning scientists credited with

developing the first commercially viable optical fiber.