U.S. Patent Office Confirms Validity of ROMER CimCore's 'Infinite Rotation' Patent; Rejects All Arguments in FARO's Request for
07 January 2006 - 1:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- ROMER CimCore, a
Hexagon Metrology company, has received notice from the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office that the validity of its U.S. Patent No.
5,829,148 ("the '148 patent") has been confirmed on all claims. On
September 9, 2004, the Patent Office agreed to conduct a
re-examination of the patent at the request of FARO Technologies,
Inc., Lake Mary, FL (NASDAQ:FARO). The '148 patent is the subject
of an ongoing patent infringement lawsuit in federal court in San
Diego, CA (CimCore Corp., et al. v. Faro Technologies, Inc., Civil
Action No. 03-CV-2355 B(WMc)), scheduled for trial on January 31,
2006. "This recent decision from the U.S. Patent Office strengthens
our conviction that the '148 patent is valid, and this lawsuit is
an entirely legitimate response to FARO's ongoing infringement of
our patented technology," stated Bill Gruber, President and CEO of
Hexagon Metrology (North America). "In the opinion of the Patent
Office, FARO's arguments for patent invalidity were inadequate to
invalidate any of the claims of the '148 patent. These are the same
arguments for invalidity that FARO has presented to the U.S.
District Court." A second request for re-examination of the '148
patent was also filed by FARO on September 15, 2005, and was
recently accepted by the U.S. Patent Office. "FARO's second request
for re-examination is very similar to the first one, which was not
successful," continued Gruber. "The Patent Office's decision has
further strengthened our case, and FARO's continued delaying
tactics will not deter us from seeking a final vindication at
trial. We remain confident that ROMER will obtain a permanent
injunction and recover substantial damages as a result of FARO's
infringement of our patented technology." The two companies are the
largest manufacturers of "portable arm" measurement devices, which
are used by engineers to design and inspect a variety of
manufactured products. These portable CMM products represent both
companies' primary line of business. FARO has been making and
selling the accused products for several years. ROMER CimCore
designs and manufactures portable coordinate measurement machines.
The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Measurement group
of Sweden's Hexagon AB (Stockholmsborsen: HEXA A), the world's
largest provider of precision dimensional measurement hardware and
software. http://www.hexagon.se/ DATASOURCE: Hexagon Metrology
CONTACT: Bill Fetter of Hexagon Metrology North America,
+1-920-906-7514 Web site: http://www.hexagon.se/
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