ITC Sides With Gateway on Majority of Issues in Patent Dispute With HP
August 09 2005 - 5:34PM
PR Newswire (US)
Minor issues on outmoded printer-related patents to have no
practical impact on Gateway customers or product shipments IRVINE,
Calif., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gateway, Inc. (NYSE:GTW)
is pleased with an International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling
Monday that rejected the majority of patent claims made by HP
against Gateway, and awarded HP a Pyrrhic victory on two outmoded
printer technology claims. Gateway said the ruling will not disrupt
shipments to customers, retail partners, or professional clients of
its Gateway-branded models for the balance of this year, and that
the company has ample time to make any necessary changes to
eliminate any risk of disruption next year. eMachines systems
should not be implicated by the initial determination in any event,
according to the judge's recommendation. "We're very pleased with
the result as we won outright on five of the seven patents HP
asserted, and saw the remaining two reduced to only a few claims
directed at unused, legacy technology," said Wayne Inouye, Gateway
president and CEO. "We also have an ITC case against HP for
infringing a Gateway patent involved in Media Center PCs, and look
forward to prevailing on our patent claims." Monday's determination
was the result of HP's decision in 2004 to assert seven patents
against Gateway in the ITC. In the course of this proceeding, three
of HP's patents were dismissed prior to trial, and the judge
overseeing the action determined Monday that Gateway prevailed
outright on two other HP patents. On the two remaining, related
patents, the court found that 15 of HP's 19 claims were invalid.
The four claims that survived, the court ruled, were infringed
because Gateway PCs contain legacy circuitry that would allow use
of an outdated printer technology using the parallel port. In many
of its products, Gateway had phased out parallel ports altogether
as unnecessary, legacy hardware. In those that remained, Gateway
had disabled the use of "DMA" transfers, the technology targeted by
HP's patents, in an attempt to eliminate HP's claims of
infringement. Today, the vast majority of PC customers print either
through USB connections or through a network. And today's Microsoft
parallel port drivers do not support DMA. Gateway will appeal part
of an initial determination on the basis that an administrative law
judge reached an incorrect conclusion on infringement, and
regardless of that, the patents asserted by HP are not valid.
Monday's initial determination is not final, and if the ITC were to
accept the judge's findings, any resulting order would not take
effect until February 2006, and is not expected to cover eMachines
systems. Gateway has time to make any necessary changes to any
Gateway-branded imported product to eliminate any new argument for
infringement. The changes contemplated are not expected to impact
customers, nor diminish system functionality or performance. "Our
history as a company makes it clear we respect the intellectual
property of others, and that we expect others to respect ours,"
Inouye said. "What this is really about is HP's strategic decision
to attack us in the courts as another means of competition, given
that they have lost significant ground to Gateway in retail. We're
disappointed that HP chose to travel this road but we have no
choice but to reply in kind." At present, Gateway and HP are
engaged in intellectual property litigation in five venues around
the nation. The next case to come to decision will be Gateway's
claim that HP Media Center PCs infringe Gateway's intellectual
property. That ITC decision is due in October 2005. About Gateway
Since its founding in 1985, Irvine, Calif.-based Gateway (NYSE:GTW)
has been a technology pioneer, offering award-winning PCs and
related products to consumers, businesses, government agencies and
schools. After acquiring eMachines in early 2004, Gateway is now
the third largest PC company in the U.S. and among the top ten
worldwide. The company's value-based eMachines brand is sold
exclusively by leading retailers worldwide, while the premium
Gateway line is available at major retailers, over the web and
phone, and through its direct and indirect sales force. See
http://www.gateway.com/ for more information. Special note This
press release contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they do
not materialize or prove incorrect, could cause Gateway's results
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements
of historical fact, are statements that could be forward-looking
statements, including any projections or preliminary estimates of
earnings, revenues, or other financial items; any statements of
plans, strategies and objectives of management for future
operations; the extent of seasonal changes in demand; any
statements regarding proposed new products, services or
developments; any statements regarding future economic conditions
or performance; statements of belief and any statement of
assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. The risks that
contribute to the uncertain nature of these statements include,
among others, risks related to shifting our distribution model to
third-party retail; competitive factors and pricing pressures,
including the impact of aggressive pricing cuts by larger
competitors; general conditions in the personal computing industry,
including changes in overall demand and average selling prices,
shifts from desktops to mobile computing products and information
appliances and the impact of new microprocessors and operating
software; the ability to simplify the company's business, change
its distribution model and restructure its operations and cost
structure; component supply shortages; short product cycles; the
ability to access new technology; infrastructure requirements;
risks of international business; foreign currency fluctuations;
risks relating to new or acquired businesses, joint ventures and
strategic alliances; risks related to financing customer orders;
changes in accounting rules; the impact of litigation and
government regulation generally; inventory risks due to shifts in
market demand; the impact of employee reductions and management
changes and additions; and general economic conditions, and other
risks described from time to time in Gateway's Securities and
Exchange Commission periodic reports and filings. Gateway assumes
no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect
events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on
which they were made. DATASOURCE: Gateway, Inc. CONTACT: Media,
David Hallisey, +1-949-471-7703, , or John W. Spelich,
+1-949-471-7710, , both of Gateway, Inc. Web site:
http://www.gateway.com/
Copyright
Gateway (NYSE:GTW)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Gateway (NYSE:GTW)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024