Court Drops Initial Ruling Against FARO

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LAKE MARY, Fla., Sept 21, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- The judge presiding over a lawsuit against FARO Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: FARO) has withdrawn his summary ruling that the Company had infringed on a competitor's patent.

"The courts reconsideration is a vindication of our opinion that the prior decision was in error," FARO Co-founder, Chairman and CEO Simon Raab said. "We are grateful for the court's unusual consideration."

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The Platinum FaroArm's joints have an infinite range of rotation. Romer Cimcore filed a suit claiming that this infinite rotation feature infringes on their patent, namely U.S. Patent 5,829,148 (a.k.a. '148 patent). The judge accepted FARO's request for reconsideration and agreed that the court had misinterpreted the claims of the '148 patent.

In addition to vacating his summary judgment of infringement, he will reconsider his conclusions from the Markman, which is a pretrial hearing often used in patent infringement cases. The new Markman and hearing-on-summary judgments of infringement are scheduled for October 3 and November 7, respectively.

"The fact is, we are starting fresh and will continue defending our technology," Raab said. "We believe we do not infringe and that the '148 patent is invalid. Further, we will leave the current design-around solution in place -- even though it is based on the courts previous erroneous interpretations of the claims -- just in case it needs to be modified based on the new Markman's results on claim interpretation."

FARO President and COO Jay Freeland added: "We maintain that the impact of this suit on the manufacture and sale of FaroArms, and continued growth of FARO, will be insignificant. This is merely a harassment suit by an organization desperate to get the attention that it can't get from its technology, sales or marketing."

Raab concluded: "I would like to remind shareholders and customers that the court has not found for or against infringement and that we will make every effort to mitigate the effects of this ongoing process. Further, we will not be deterred in our efforts to retain the title of the world's largest and most successful provider of best portable, 3D measurement technology."

About FARO

With nearly 8,500 installations and 3,800 customers globally, FARO Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: FARO) and its international subsidiaries design, develop, and market software and portable, computerized measurement devices. The Company's products allow manufacturers to perform 3D inspections of parts and assemblies on the shop floor. This helps eliminate manufacturing errors, and thereby increases productivity and profitability for a variety of industries in FARO's worldwide customer base. Principal products include the FARO Laser ScanArm; FARO Laser Scanner LS; FARO Gage and Gage-PLUS; Platinum, Digital Template, Titanium, Advantage FaroArms; the FARO Laser Tracker X and Xi; and the CAM2 family of advanced CAD-based measurement and reporting software. FARO Technologies is ISO 9001 certified and ISO-17025 laboratory registered. 

This press release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that are subject to
risks and uncertainties, such as statements about our plans, objectives,
projections, expectations, assumptions, strategies, or future events.
Statements that are not historical facts or that describe the Company's plans,
objectives, projections, expectations, assumptions, strategies, or goals are
forward-looking statements. In addition, words such as "may," "believes,"
"anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "estimates," "will,"
"should," "could," "projects," "forecast," and similar expressions or
discussions of our strategy or other intentions identify forward-looking
statements. Other written or oral statements, which constitute forward-looking
statements, also may be made by the Company from time to time. Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to various
known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause
actual results, performances, or achievements to differ materially from future
results, performances, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-
looking statements. Consequently, undue reliance should not be placed on these
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from what is expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to:
* the other risks detailed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and
other filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. *
* the final ruling on the '148 patent
Forward-looking statements in this release represent the Company's judgment as
of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update
publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events, or otherwise.

SOURCE FARO Technologies, Inc. 

Darin Sahler, Global PR Manager, FARO, +1-407-333-9911, or sahlerd@faro.com

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"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding FARO Technologies Inc's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.