General Patent Corporation Represented Acticon in These Transactions
SUFFERN, N.Y., September 30, 2002 - Acticon Technologies LLC (Acticon) has settled its patent infringement lawsuits with Lava Computer Manufacturing, Inc. of Toronto, Canada (Lava) and Taiwan First Line Electric Corp. of Taiwan, R.O.C. (Taiwan).
The lawsuits involved Acticon's portfolio of four "smart connector" patents. General Patent Corporation (GPC), a patent licensing and enforcement firm headquartered in Suffern, N.Y., represented Acticon in these transactions. Acticon filed suit against Lava in March of 2002 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleged that the PC Card modems, network adapters and combo cards made by Lava infringed the four Acticon patents. The parties reached an amicable resolution to this dispute, which resulted in Lava taking a license under the Acticon patents.
In a separate action, Acticon sued Bafo Technologies in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in March of 2002. In response to the suit, Taiwan First Line Electric, the parent company of Bafo, also took a license under the Acticon patents.
"You can't fight the truth," insists Paul Lerner, GPC's Sr. Vice President and General Counsel. "We have now negotiated 49 licensing agreements and successfully settled 15 lawsuits on behalf of Acticon," he added.
Other companies that have recently licensed the Acticon patents include international conglomerate SCM Microsystems, Inc. (including several of its subsidiaries around the globe), which provides specialized connections between digital platforms; and Zonet USA Corporation, a California vendor of PC Cards and CompactFlash cards.
Acticon's "smart connector" patents cover specific aspects of PC cards, CompactFlash cards and other "smart connector" devices used in mobile computer communication, networking and instrumentation control. More than 90% of the PC cards sold in the United States today are licensed under the Acticon patents.