Corning Incorporated and Furukawa Settle Lawsuit; Consent Judgment favors Corning in patent, trademark infringement case.

CORNING, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 1999--Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) today announced that it had settled the lawsuit it had filed against The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan and its related U.S. Company, Furukawa Electric North America Inc. of Peachtree City, Georgia for infringing on a Corning patent and trademark, and for unfair competition.

In its lawsuit, which was initiated on November 5, 1998, Corning said the companies were infringing on a Corning patent and trademark and practicing unfair competition relating to dispersion compensating optical fiber. The Consent Judgment in favor of Corning was filed with the United States District Court for the Western District of New York in Rochester.

The settled lawsuit involved Corning's U.S. Patent Number 5,361,319, which relates to optical fibers that improve the operation of fiber-based telecommunication systems by compensating for the detrimental dispersion (spreading out) of light signals normally found in optical fiber systems. The lawsuit also involved Corning's federally registered trademark DCM.

The Consent Judgment provides that Corning's U.S. Patent Number 5,361,319 is valid and enforceable and that the Furukawa dispersion compensating modules sold by Furukawa in the U.S. and the optical fibers contained in the modules were within the scope of, and infringed upon, Corning's U.S. Patent Number 5,361,319.

The Consent Judgment further provides that Corning's federally registered trademark DCM is valid and enforceable and that Furukawa's use of Corning's trademark DCM with Furukawa's products, advertising, and literature is likely to cause confusion with Corning's DCM trademark.

In commenting on this settled lawsuit, Dr. Gerald Fine, vice president and general manager of Corning's Photonic Technologies Division, stated "The patent and the trademark involved in this action are valuable assets to Corning and are particularly pertinent to products produced by the Photonic Technologies Division. Our patents and trademarks represent a very significant investment by Corning and we are committed to exercising our legal rights to protect this significant body of intellectual property."

Established in 1851, Corning Incorporated creates leading-edge technologies for the fastest-growing markets of the world's economy. Corning manufactures optical fiber, cable and photonic products for the telecommunications industry; and high-performance displays and components for television and other communications-related industries. The company also uses advanced materials to manufacture products for scientific, semiconductor and environmental markets. Corning's total revenues in 1998 were $3.5 billion. More information on the company is available on the Internet at www.corning.com and www.corningphotonics.com, Corning websites.