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General Patent Obtains 150 Licenses for its Acticon Patent Portfolio |
SUFFERN, N.Y., May 15, 2008 - General Patent Corporation International (GPCI), a leading patent licensing and enforcement firm headquartered in Suffern, NY, reached an important milestone in its patent enforcement campaign on behalf of its subsidiary, Acticon Technologies LLC (Acticon). GPCI recently obtained the 150th settlement under Acticon's portfolio of "smart connector" patents. Data Device Corporation of Bohemia, NY has settled Acticon's claims of infringement of its U.S. Patent No. 4,972,470 (Programmable Connector) for its MIL-STD-1553 and ARINC PCMCIA cards. GPCI represented Acticon in all 150 licensing and settlement transactions. "I am absolutely amazed at the success of these patents," said Steven Farago, Ph.D., the inventor of the Acticon "smart connector" technology. "Back in 1996, I wouldn't have thought it was possible to license 150 companies. But General Patent has been wonderful and exceeded all my expectations. They have left no stone unturned in enforcing the Acticon patents." GPCI also announced that Acticon has settled its patent infringement lawsuit against CNet Technology Corporation of San Jose, CA and CNet Technology, Inc. of Taiwan. Acticon brought suit against CNet and three other defendants in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Case No. 06 Civ 4679). CNet ultimately agreed to settle the lawsuit and to take a license under the patents. GPCI previously announced that another defendant, Mace Group d/b/a Macally Peripherals, took a paid-up settlement arrangement. Acticon was represented by the law firm of Carr & Ferrell LLP of Palo Alto, CA. Other companies that have recently settled or taken or license under the '470 Patent are Contemporary Controls of Downers Grove, IL for its ARCNET PCMCIA cards, and Light Cone Corp. of Irvine, CA for its CompactFlash cards. "We are pleased with these recent developments, and that Acticon has been so successful," said Paul Lerner, Sr. Vice President and General Counsel for GPCI. "We will continue to enforce these patents until the last of the infringers has settled," he added. Acticon's "smart connector" patents cover specific aspects of PC cards and other "smart connector" devices used in mobile computer communications, networking and instrumentation control. GPCI has successfully represented Acticon in 26 lawsuits and one hundred fifty licensing transactions related to these patents. About General Patent Corporation International General Patent Corporation International (GPCI) is a premier IP licensing and enforcement firm headquartered in Suffern, NY. GPCI represents clients in assertive licensing and intellectual property enforcement on a contingency basis. GPCI assists IP owners in patent, trademark, and copyright infringement litigation, and is the oldest IP enforcement organization in the US. For more information on GPCI visit www.patentclaim.com. General Patent Corporation (GPC), a consulting arm of GPCI, is a leading full service intellectual property management firm. GPC provides IP analysis and strategy, IP audit and valuation, IP portfolio mining and management, and technology transfer services to domestic and foreign businesses, universities, research institutions and individual inventors. For more information on GPC visit www.generalpatent.com. IP Holdings LLC, another affiliate of GPCI, is an IP-centric merchant banking organization focusing on IP monetization, patent brokerage and IP-related financial services. IP Holdings also operates an idea incubator nurturing early-stage technologies and IP portfolios. For more information on IP Holdings visit www.ip-holdings.com. For further information on Acticon, GPCI, GPC and IP Holdings contact General Patent Corporation, Montebello Park, Suffern, NY 10901-3740; telephone: (845) 368-4000; e-mail: info@gpci.com. |