 Epson - Legal rights
The lawsuit is now scheduled to go to trial in September 2005 on some defenses asserted by Multi-Union and the monetary damages and exclusion order sought by Epson. "We are pleased by this important progress in the Multi-Union case," said Dan Crane, senior vice president, marketing, Epson. "We will continue vigorous enforcement of our intellectual property rights to protect our innovative printers and supplies against unfair competition of all types including patent infringement, unsubstantiated performance claims and counterfeiting."
About Epson America Inc.
Epson offers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image output products for the consumer, business, photography and graphic arts markets. The company is also a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale (POS) printers and transaction terminals for the retail market. Founded in 1975, Epson America, Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality technology products that meet customer demands for increased functionality, compactness, systems integration and energy efficiency. Epson America, Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif.
About Epson Portland Inc.
Epson Portland Inc. is the U.S.-based manufacturing subsidiary of Japan's Seiko Epson Corporation. Historically a printer manufacturer (from its opening day in July of 1986 until August of 2001 Epson Portland built over 15 million dot matrix and ink jet printers for business, government and personal use), the company currently manufactures ink cartridges for ink jet printers, refurbishes optical engines for LCD projectors, performs precision injection molding of proprietary plastic parts, and also provides specialized engineering services for the Seiko Epson Group. |
Epson lawsuit against manufacturer ink cartridges : A federal judge has issued a summary judgment ruling in a patent infringement lawsuit against Multi-Union Trading that decisively holds that the defendant's ink cartridges infringe Epson's patents. The lawsuit was brought in April 2001 in Portland, by Epson against Multi-Union a Hong Kong-based company that is one of the world's largest manufacturers of aftermarket ink cartridges. The infringing cartridges are often sold in the US under the PrintRite brand and in generic packaging. Rejecting the defendant's arguments of non-infringement and patent invalidity, the Court found that 23 models of cartridges sold for use in Epson printers infringe Epson's principal patent claims.
