EANS-Adhoc: ams AG ams wins patent validity lawsuit launched by Melexis;
existing patent infringement verdict against Melexis reinstated and in force
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Justice/Processes/Patents, Copyright & Trademarks
21.05.2014
Unterpremstaetten, Austria (21 May 2014) - ams (SIX: AMS), a leading worldwide
manufacturer of high performance sensor and analog solutions, announces that the
company has won a last-instance verdict against Melexis N.V./SA (Belgium) in the
patent validity lawsuit launched by Melexis with respect to the European Patent
EP 0 916 074 B1 covering magnetic field position sensor products.
The German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) in Karlsruhe (Germany)
recently issued a final verdict validating the patent, which is exclusively held
by ams, and nullifying Melexis' claim that the underlying contactless position
sensor technology was not patentable. ams had expected to prevail in the last
instance of the patentability lawsuit following its appeal of the first-instance
decision by the Federal Patent Court (Bundespatentgericht) in Munich (Germany).
Given the patentability decision against Melexis the existing first-instance
verdict in the patent infringement lawsuit against Melexis N.V./SA (Belgium) and
its German subsidiary Melexis GmbH is fully reinstated. This lawsuit covers
magnetic field position sensor products and European Patent EP 0 916 074 B1 and
was brought before the District Court (Landgericht) in Duesseldorf (Germany) by
ams. As a consequence, Melexis continues to carry the risk of financial damages
for patent infringement being awarded to ams on the basis of the valid
infringement verdict.
Bernd Gessner, Executive VP and General Manager Business Unit Automotive at ams,
commented: "We are delighted by the Federal Supreme Court decision validating
our patent which has been exclusively held by ams since 2003. We are spending
significant amounts of time, effort, and money to develop the technologies
driving our products and will continue to vigorously defend our intellectual
property (IP) against unauthorized use or infringement."
ams is the worldwide leader in high resolution magnetic field sensor solutions.
ams' extensive range of rotary and linear position sensors provides robust,
contactless position measurement for virtually countless applications.
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about ams
ams develops and manufactures high performance analog semiconductors that solve
its customers' most challenging problems with innovative solutions. ams'
products are aimed at applications which require extreme precision, accuracy,
dynamic range, sensitivity, and ultra-low power consumption. ams' product range
includes sensors, sensor interfaces, power management ICs and wireless ICs for
customers in the consumer, industrial, medical, mobile communications and
automotive markets.
With headquarters in Austria, ams employs over 1,400 people globally and serves
more than 7,800 customers worldwide. ams is listed on the SIX Swiss stock
exchange (ticker symbol: AMS). More information about ams can be found at
www.ams.com.
Further inquiry note:
Moritz M. Gmeiner
Director Investor Relations
Tel: +43 3136 500-31211
Fax: +43 3136 500-931211
Email: investor@ams.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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issuer: ams AG
Tobelbader Strasse 30
A-8141 Unterpremstaetten
phone: +43 3136 500-0
FAX: +43 3136 500-931211
mail: investor@ams.com
WWW: www.ams.com
sector: Technology
ISIN: AT0000920863
indexes:
stockmarkets: official dealing: SIX Swiss Exchange
language: English