Asyst prevails in patent infringement appeal

October 17, 2001 – Fremont, CA – Asyst Technologies Inc. said it has won a favorable ruling in a patent infringement suit. On October 10, 2001, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed an earlier district court ruling, allowing Asyst to proceed with its claims that the IridNet System and other related products made, used, sold and installed by Emtrak Inc., Jenoptik AG, Jenoptik Infab Inc., Jenoptik GmbH, Infab US Operations Inc., and Meissner & Wurst infringe upon certain Asyst US patents.

In 1996, Asyst brought a suit claiming that the IridNet System and other related products infringed certain Asyst patents, which describe specific aspects of Asyst’s automation, isolation, transport and communication systems used in processing semiconductor wafers into integrated circuits. The district court dismissed the lawsuit in June 2000, Asyst said.

In reversing that decision, the US Court of Appeals has remanded the case back to the US District Court, Northern District of California, in San Jose.

Stated Geoffrey Ribar, Asyst senior VP and CFO, “We’re pleased with the decision of the Federal Circuit Court. Asyst pursued this appeal as a normal course of action. It is imperative for the company to vigorously protect its IP, and we intend to maintain this policy as we move forward — particularly to protect our market share in auto-ID technology.”

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