NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Brookwood Companies,
Inc., a leading integrated textile company and product design firm
and a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hallwood Group Incorporated
(NYSE Amex: HWG), announced today that the United States Patent and
Trademark Office ("USPTO") granted its request to re-examine U.S.
Patent No.'s 5,954,902 and 6,289,841, belonging to Nextec
Applications, Inc. These two patents are currently at issue
in the pending patent infringement litigation brought by Nextec
against Brookwood in the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York
(Case No. 07-cv-6901).
Brookwood believes that the two Nextec patents are invalid for a
number of reasons, including the existence of a number of prior art
references that Brookwood believes disclose and render obvious the
"encapsulation" technology allegedly covered by the two Nextec
patents. Since these prior art references were in existence
prior to the filing date of the Nextec patents (some dating as far
back as 1938), Brookwood believes that Nextec is not entitled to
the two patents at issue.
As such, Brookwood filed two reexamination requests for each of
the two Nextec patents with the USPTO, collectively alleging six
separate grounds of unpatentability. The United States Patent
and Trademark Office has granted the requests for reexamination on
each and every ground Brookwood requested, concluding that
"substantial new questions of patentability" have been presented.
While these two patents are being reexamined by the USPTO,
Brookwood intends to continue its vigorous defense against Nextec's
claims of patent infringement involving these same two Nextec
patents.
MORE ABOUT BROOKWOOD
Brookwood services a diverse global marketplace with a wide
variety of technically oriented products. Our capabilities support
all market segments, including Military, Consumer, Industrial and
Medical. Brookwood's marketing and product development is
geared to provide solutions for customers both domestically as well
as internationally. The technical capabilities of our
manufacturing facilities to dye, print, coat, and laminate are
recognized worldwide. We are known for extensive, in-house
expertise in high-tech fabric development. Among branded products
we manufacture:
- ASSAULT®
- STORM-TECH®
- INTRUDER™
- MARATHON™
- COVERT™
- FR-TEX®
- BARRIER-FLEX®
- DERMA-PLUSH®
The Brookwood Laminating facility produces ASSAULT® and
other waterproof/breathables, as well as barrier fabrics, heat
sealable and weldable fabrics, vinyls and sail cloth. Kenyon
Industries produces state-of-the-art fabrics utilizing the latest
technologies and processes in dyeing, printing, finishing and
coating. Our lab is qualified to test to ASTM, AATCC, ISO,
NFPA and Federal Test Standard Methods. As a qualified
military supplier, Brookwood is recognized as a leader in the
market development of specification fabrics.
Forward-looking Information
Certain statements in this release, other than statements of
historical fact, may include forward-looking information that
involves various risks and uncertainties that face the Company;
such statements may contain such words as "may", "would", "could",
"will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate",
"expect" and similar expressions, and are based on management's
current assumptions and expectations. Risks and uncertainties that
the Company faces include, but are not limited to: our dependence
on a limited number of third-party suppliers for raw materials, our
reliance on certain key customers, the impact of potential changes
in military procurement practices or regulations and global capital
and credit market conditions, and our ability to protect our
intellectual property rights and the outcome of the current patent
litigation. Such forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the
actual results of the Company to be materially different from the
historical results and/or from any future results or outcomes
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
There can be no assurance that any statements of
forward-looking information contained in this release will prove to
be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Additional
information regarding these and other factors can be found in the
filings that The Hallwood Group Incorporated, our parent company,
makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The
Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements
should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions
change.
SOURCE Brookwood Companies, Inc.