March 10, 2005 — A federal judge has issued a summary judgment ruling in a patent infringement lawsuit against Multi-Union Trading Co. Ltd. that decisively holds that the defendant’s ink cartridges infringe Epson’s patents. The lawsuit was brought in April 2001 in Portland, Ore., by Epson America Inc., Epson Portland Inc. and Seiko Epson Corp. against Multi-Union Trading Co. Ltd., 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 United States 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. 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 printer supplies against unfair competition of all types including patent infringement, unsubstantiated performance claims and counterfeiting.”
SOURCE Epson America Inc.
