Forgent Networks Sues 31 Companies for Patent Infringement.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2004 Forgent(TM) Networks (Nasdaq:FORG FORG Forge (street type) FORG Forgings ) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. , Compression Labs Inc., has initiated litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. against 31 companies for infringement of United States Patent No. 4,698,672 (the '672 Patent) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas is the Federal district court with jurisdiction over the eastern part of Texas and is a part of the Fifth Circuit. The court's headquarters are in Tyler, Texas and has five subdivision offices. , Marshall Division. Over the last two years, Forgent's intellectual property business has generated approximately $90 million from licensing the '672 Patent to 30 different companies in Asia, Europe and the United States. Forgent has sought to reach agreements on numerous occasions with all these companies, but as of today, none of the defendants have chosen to license. Forgent has retained Jenkens & Gilchrist, a national law firm, and The Roth Law Firm, of Marshall Texas, to represent it in the litigation. The defendants are: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE ADBE Adobe Systems, Inc. (stock symbol) ), Agfa Corporation, Apple Computer Incorporated (Nasdaq:AAPL AAPL Apple Computer, Inc. (stock symbol) AAPL American Association of Professional Landmen AAPL American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law AAPL Advance Audiovisual Presentation Limited AAPL Advocates for Arkansas Public Libraries ), Axis Communications Incorporated, Canon USA, Concord Camera Corporation (Nasdaq:LENS), Creative Labs Incorporated, Dell Incorporated (Nasdaq:DELL), Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :EK), Fuji Photo Film Co U.S.A, Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Gateway Inc. (NYSE:GTW GTW Gateway, Inc. (stock symbol) GTW Global Trade Watch GTW Grand Trunk Western (railroad) GTW Gatwick Airport GTW Global Trading Web (Commerce One B2B-platform) ), Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), JASC Software, JVC Americas Corporation, Kyocera Wireless Corporation, Macromedia Inc. (Nasdaq:MACR MACR Macromedia (stock symbol) MACR Missing Air Crew Report MACR Major Accident Control Regulations (UK) MACR Monthly Arrest and Citation Register MACR Modified And Combinable REMIC ), Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, Oce' North America Incorporated, Onkyo Corporation, PalmOne Inc. (Nasdaq:PLMO PLMO Palmone, Inc (Nasdaq stock symbol) ), Panasonic Communications Corporation of America, Panasonic Mobile Communications Development Corporation of USA, Ricoh Corporation, Riverdeep Incorporated (d.b.a. Broderbund), Savin savin a neurotoxic war gas similar to organophosphorus insecticides but considerably more toxic, as demonstrated in the Tokyo subway massacre in 1995. Corporation, Thomson S.A. (NYSE:TMS), Toshiba Corporation and Xerox Corporation (NYSE:XRX). The '672 Patent relates to digital image compression, and fields of use include any digital still image device used to compress, store, manipulate, print or transmit digital still images such as digital cameras. However, the '672 patent extends beyond digital cameras and includes many digital still image devices such as personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, printers, scanners and other devices used to compress, store, manipulate, print or transmit digital still images. Forgent has the exclusive right to use, license and enforce all the claims under the '672 Patent in all fields of use involving digital still image compression. "Forgent is committed to developing all of its assets and technologies to maximize shareholder value. We believe we will prevail in this litigation as the '672 Patent is valid, enforceable and infringed," said Richard Snyder, chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Forgent. "It's unfortunate that despite the many opportunities these companies have had to license the patent, they have all declined to participate, leaving us no alternative but to litigate." About Forgent Forgent(TM) Networks provides a spectrum of scheduling software that enable organizations to streamline the planning and execution of their meetings, helping to increase productivity and reduce costs. Forgent's offerings include Network Simplicity's Meeting Room Manager, which provides room scheduling, and ALLIANCE(TM), which provides unified scheduling of all meeting logistics using the corporate calendaring platforms of Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook. Forgent also generates and licenses intellectual property related to collaboration technologies. For additional information visit www.forgent.com. Safe Harbor This release may include projections and other forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties and as such, actual results in future periods may differ materially from those currently expected or desired. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include changes in the general economy and the technology industry, rapid changes in technology, sales cycle and product implementations, risks associated with transitioning to a new business model and the subsequent limited operating history, the possibility of new entrants into the collaboration management market, the possibility that the market for the sale of certain software and services may not develop as expected; that development of these software and services may not proceed as planned, risks associated with the company's license program, including risks of litigation involving intellectual property, patents and trademarks, acquisition integration, and the ability to consummate certain divestiture transactions. Additional discussion of these and other risk factors affecting the company's business and prospects is contained in the company's periodic filings with the SEC. |
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