FormFactor, Inc. (Nasdaq:FORM) today announced the Korean Intellectual Property Office has dismissed challenges against three issued FormFactor Korea Patents. In dismissing the patent validity challenges, the Korean Intellectual Property Office upheld the validity of all the claims of FormFactor's Korea Patent Nos. 278342, 399210 and 324064.
The validity challenges were brought by Phicom Corporation, a Korean corporation, after FormFactor filed complaints in the Seoul (South Korea) Southern District Court alleging Phicom's infringement of four different FormFactor Korean patents. Phicom has appealed the Korean Intellectual Property Office decisions. The Office has not yet conducted a substantive hearing on the fourth FormFactor patent challenged by Phicom.
"The rulings upholding the validity of all three FormFactor Korean patents are an important step for FormFactor as we seek to enforce intellectual property rights embodied in our proprietary technology," said Igor Khandros, chief executive officer of FormFactor. "The decisions issued by the Korean Intellectual Property Office provide strong support for our pending lawsuits, and confirm the strength of our growing global patent portfolio."
More information about the Korean Intellectual Property Office rulings will be made available if the decisions are formally published by that Office. The Seoul Southern District Court is expected to conduct substantive hearings on FormFactor's infringement claims in the next several months.
About FormFactor:
FormFactor, Inc. (Nasdaq:FORM) is an industry leader in the design, development, manufacture, sale and support of precision, high-performance advanced semiconductor wafer probe cards. The Company's products are based on its proprietary technologies, including its MicroSpring interconnect technology and proprietary design processes, which enable FormFactor to produce wafer probe cards for test applications that require reliability, speed, precision and signal integrity. FormFactor is headquartered in Livermore, California. For more information, visit the Company's Web site at www.formfactor.com.
FormFactor and MicroSpring are registered trademarks of FormFactor, Inc. All other product, trademark, company or service names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements.
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements are based on current information and expectations that are inherently subject to change and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results might differ materially from those in any forward-looking statement due to various factors, including, but not limited to: the ruling on any appeal of the decisions issued by the Korean Intellectual Property Office; the decisions by the Seoul Southern District Court on the Company's infringement claims or challenges to the Company's patents, and any appeal of those decisions. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those in any forward looking statement is contained in the Company's Form 10-Q/A for the period ending September 25, 2004, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and subsequent filings. Copies of filings made by the Company with the SEC are available at http://investors.formfactor.com/edgar.cfm. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information in this press release, to revise any forward-looking statements or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements.
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