SUFFERN, N.Y., August 9, 1999 - Acticon Technologies (Acticon), a division of General Patent Corporation (GPC), has reached a settlement with Play Incorporated (Play), Rancho Cordova, CA, in a patent suit brought by Play against GPC in April 1997. At the conclusion of the mutual settlement agreement and the subsequent stipulated judgement, the patents in question remained valid and enforceable.
As part of the amicable settlement, Play agreed to drop its affirmative claims against GPC, and GPC agreed to license to Play two of its United States Patents, specifically 4,603,320 and 4,972,470. In his Order, Judge Frank Damrell, Jr. of the federal court in the Eastern District of California stated, "U.S. Patent nos. 4,603,320 and 4,972,470 are valid and enforceable."
"We are very pleased with this agreement," said Alexander Poltorak, GPC's Chairman and CEO. "We are happy that Play has chosen to license our patents, and we wish them continued success with their products."
Michael Moore, Chairman and CEO of Play Incorporated, said, "Play's intellectual property portfolio is a key asset of our company and we are always pleased to further Play's access to intellectual property while reaching amicable licensing arrangements that benefit Play."
Acticon's award-winning technology is based on the U.S. Patent Nos. 4,603,320 "Connector Interface" ("'320") and 4,972,470 "Programmable Connector ("'470"). The '320 is the basic "smart connector" patent teaching the art of embedding an electronic interface within the connector housing. The '470 patent covers the smart connectors with a higher level of "intelligence," where the embedded interface is programmable. The Acticon patent portfolio also includes U.S. Patent Nos. 4,686,506 "Multiple Connector Interface," and 4,543,450 "Integrated Connector and Modem." These patents are available for non-exclusive licensing from Acticon Technologies under favorable terms.
Play Incorporated was founded in 1994 by computer and video industry pioneers with the goal of melding high-end video and graphics capabilities to personal computers and the Internet. Among its award winning products are Snappy Video Snapshot, the all time best selling computer video add-on, Trinity, which revolutionized TV production and graphics throughout the world and GlobeCaster, the world's first Internet TV station-in-a-box. For more information call 800.306.PLAY or visit www.play.com.