Tegal Appeals Court Ruling: Tokyo Electron Tries to Sneak by On a Legal Technicality.Business/Technology Editors ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 21, 2000 Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL TEL Telephone TEL Telegram TEL Telugu (langauge) TEL Terrorist Exclusion List TEL Technology-Enhanced Learning TEL Transporter-Erector-Launcher TEL Tetra-Ethyl Lead TEL Team Deutsche Telekom ), stung by the court's earlier ruling that it willfully infringed Tegal's U.S. patent No. 4,464,223, has introduced a new system trying to avoid infringement by using 2.0 MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. instead of 1.99 MHz. TEL managed to convince the court that its new AIEM AIEM Australian Institute of Eastern Music system did not infringe Tegal's patent on a legal technicality. Tegal will continue to vigorously police the existing injunction entered a year ago against TEL while appeals are pending in the ongoing patent 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. between the companies. In March 1998, Tegal sued Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) and its U.S. subsidiary Tokyo Electron America (TEA) for infringing a number of Tegal's patents, including the fundamental `223 patent. A year ago, in August of 1999, Judge James R. Spencer For other persons of the same name, see James Spencer. James Randolph Spencer was born in Florence, South Carolina in 1949. He attended Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1971. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. History During the 1960s, Judge Albert V. Bryan Jr. found that a line of etchers then being offered for sale by TEL and TEA, known as the IEM IEM Industrial Engineering and Management (course/program) IEM In Ear Monitor IEM Institution of Engineers, Malaysia IEM Inborn Errors of Metabolism (molecular biology) IEM Intelligent Energy Management etchers, infringe the '223 patent. Judge Spencer entered a permanent injunction. He also found the infringement to be willful, awarded Tegal its attorney's fees and, in February of this year, entered findings of contempt against both TEL and TEA for violating the injunction. All of these rulings, including the injunction, remain in force. Tuesday, despite the existing injunction, TEL issued a press release claiming "victory" in the case. The ruling addressed in TEL's press release involves a modified version of the etchers found to infringe a year ago, known as the Advanced IEM. Judge Spencer found that the Advanced IEM does not infringe. Judge Spencer's ruling is based on an interpretation of the claim wording used in the '223 patent. The ruling interprets "low frequency" to mean any frequency below 2Mhz. Tegal has appealed the ruling and is confident that it will be reversed, since Judge Spencer barred Tegal from applying the doctrine of equivalents The doctrine of equivalents is a legal rule in most of the world's patent systems that allows a court to hold a party liable for patent infringement even though the infringing device or process does not fall within the literal scope of a patent claim, but nevertheless is equivalent to a machine that is clearly infringing by equivalents. Mike Parodi, Tegal's Chief Executive Officer, reiterated that Tegal will continue to be vigilant about TEL's compliance with the existing injunction. Pending the appeal, Tegal will continue to challenge any further acts which it views are in contempt of the court's injunction. Parodi also noted that even considering Judge Spencer's interpretation of low frequency, any dual frequency tri-electrode etcher that utilizes a lower frequency below 2Mhz will literally infringe the '223. About Tegal Corporation Tegal Corporation (Nasdaq NM: TGAL TGAL Think Globally, Act Locally Tgal Thousand gallons ), headquartered in Petaluma, California, is a leading designer and manufacturer of plasma etch systems used in the production of integrated circuits (ICs), particularly in the burgeoning new materials market, and related devices in the disk drive, printer and small flat panel display A thin display screen for computer and TV usage. The first flat panels appeared on laptop computers in the mid-1980s, and the LCD technology became the standard. Stand-alone LCD screens became available for desktop computers in the mid-1990s and exceeded sales of CRTs for the first time industries. Etching is a key process and must be repeated multiple times in the production of these devices. Tegal markets and services its systems in all major regions of the world where these devices are manufactured. Safe Harbor Statement Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to industry conditions, economic conditions, acceptance of new technologies, future legal rulings as well as other risks set forth in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information on this legal action and other background information see Tegal's web site at www.tegal.com |
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