SUFFERN, NY, January 10, 2001 - General Patent Corporation (GPC), an intellectual property management firm based in Suffern, NY, has reached settlement with Boca Research, Inc. (Boca), of a contract reformation lawsuit brought by GPC in May of 2000.
The contract in question was itself a settlement agreement, executed in 1998, resolving a 1997 patent infringement lawsuit brought by GPC against Boca and six other modem manufacturers to enforce four of GPC's patents. The patents cover specific aspects of PCMCIA card modems and other computer communications devices. Under the settlement terms, Boca agreed to license all four of GPC's patents.
Subsequent to signing the license agreement, GPC learned that Boca had acquired all of the assets of Global Village Communications, Inc., a modem manufacturer, and that negotiations for this acquisition had been ongoing during the same time period that the GPC/Boca settlement agreement was being negotiated but not disclosed to GPC. The parties disagreed as to whether or not any further royalties were due in respect of Boca's ongoing business in PCMCIA modems, and a lawsuit was filed by GPC for contract reformation.
"We were loathe to bring yet another lawsuit against Boca, but we ran out of options," said Alexander Poltorak, GPC's Chairman and CEO. "Certainly, GPC has every right to expect that settlement agreements and license agreements will be negotiated in good faith. We are happy that this dispute is finally resolved, and that GPC has received what it was rightfully due," he added.
"We would like our licensees to know that GPC is just as determined to enforce its license agreements as it is to enforce its patents," said Paul Lerner, GPC's Senior VP and General Counsel.
While the lawsuit was pending, GPC spun off its portfolio of the four patents into a wholly-owned subsidiary, Acticon Technologies LLC (www.acticontech.com).