FARO Vindicated by Mistrial Verdict in Patent Infringement Suit
LAKE MARY, Fla., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FARO Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: FARO) today announced that the judge presiding over the ongoing '148 patent infringement case filed by Hexagon, AB, the Company's largest competitor, has declared a mistrial.
"The court's decision makes it clear that Hexagon failed to prove their case that we infringe," FARO President and CEO Jay Freeland said. Should Hexagon decide to continue pursuing its claim, subsequent hearings in the '148 patent case might be rescheduled around mid-2007.
The Company's U.S.-based FaroArm products were equipped with a minor feature that provides a mechanically unlimited rotation of certain joints. Hexagon's Romer-CimCore subsidiary filed a suit on November 25, 2003 claiming that this unlimited rotation feature infringes on their patent, namely U.S. Patent 5,829,148 (a.k.a. '148 patent). The competitor's patent applies to a four-jointed construction compared to the three-jointed construction FARO has been selling for 24 years.
The case was tried for FARO by William Cass of Cantor Colburn, LLP, with assistance by Richard Clegg of Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek, LLP. According to Cass, "During the course of these proceedings significant evidence came to light, which revealed that individuals at the highest level of Hexagon's management knowingly misrepresented the accuracy of their portable arm CMMs. FARO intends to pursue this information with the appropriate authorities. In addition, this information will be of use by FARO in this and other pending cases that the Company has brought against Hexagon."
"FARO will continue to focus on developing and delivering technology solutions that make our customers' products and processes the best in the world," Freeland concluded. "Regardless of the competitor's response to the verdict, we will not be deterred in our efforts to remain the leading provider of portable, 3D measurement technology."
About FARO
With more than 13,000 installations and 5,700 customers globally, FARO Technologies, Inc. designs, develops, and markets portable, computerized measurement devices and software used to create digital models -- or to perform evaluations against an existing model -- for anything requiring highly detailed 3-D measurements, including part and assembly inspection, factory planning and asset documentation, as well as specialized applications ranging from surveying, recreating accident sites and crime scenes to digitally preserving historical sites.
FARO's technology increases productivity by dramatically reducing the amount of on-site measuring time, and the various industry-specific software packages enable users to process and present their results quickly and more effectively.
Principal products include the world's best-selling portable measurement arm -- the FaroArm; the world's best-selling laser tracker -- the FARO Laser Tracker X and Xi; the FARO Laser ScanArm; FARO Laser Scanner LS; the FARO Gage, Gage-PLUS and PowerGAGE; and the CAM2 family of advanced CAD-based measurement and reporting software. FARO Technologies is ISO-9001 certified and ISO-17025 laboratory registered.
Learn more at http://www.faro.com
SOURCE FARO Technologies, Inc.
CONTACT: Darin Sahler, Global PR Manager, of FARO Technologies, Inc.,
+1-407-333-9911, Darin.Sahler@faro.com
/Web site: http://www.faro.com
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