Nano-Proprietary, Inc. has announced today that it has filed suit against
Canon, Inc in U.S. District Court for the Western District of
Texas, Austin Division. Nano-Proprietary is seeking a declaratory judgment
that new SED color television products, scheduled to be manufactured by Canon
and/or Toshiba beginning in August 2005, are not covered under a 1999 patent
license agreement between Canon and Nano-Proprietary. Nano-Proprietary
alleges that Canon is improperly using Nano-Proprietary's patented technology
to produce surface conductor electron emitter display screens (SED) for a new
generation of flat screen color televisions.
Nano-Proprietary also asserts that a joint venture formed by Canon and
Toshiba Corporation to produce the SED display screens, SED, Inc., is not a
licensed subsidiary under the 1999 agreement and that Canon is improperly
transferring its license rights under Nano-Proprietary's patents to the joint
venture and Toshiba. Nano-Proprietary also alleges that Canon's
representation to the industry that it is licensed violates federal false
advertising statutes.
In January 2005, Canon announced the imminent launch of SED flat screen
televisions at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. According
to the suit, Nano-Proprietary asserts that the new SED televisions fall
squarely within the definition of excluded products under the 1999 agreement.
Nano-Proprietary's suit asks the federal court to adjudicate the parties
rights' under the 1999 license and to stop Canon from representing that they
have a license and that others in the industry can join them under the
license.
"We have a very strong and pervasive patent portfolio that applies to
several multibillion dollar industries, of which this is one," said Marc
Eller, Chairman and CEO of Nano-Proprietary. "We will aggressively protect
our rights against any and all violations of our intellectual property,"
continued Eller.
Nano-Proprietary is represented by Collier Shannon Scott, PLLC, a
Washington D.C.-based firm serving domestic and international clients through
combined expertise in regulation, litigation, and government relations.
Collier Shannon Scott has successfully represented U.S. companies and
industries in many unfair trade practice cases, including cases involving
Japanese and Chinese televisions and flat panel displays from Japan.
Given the content of this press release, the CNBC Interview scheduled for
today has been postponed and will likely be rescheduled at a later date.
http://www.nano-proprietary.com
Posted 13th April 2005
