VRINGO COMMENTS ON ZTE'S ACTIONS IN CHINA
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
NEW YORK - April 30, 2015 - Vringo, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNG), a company engaged in
the innovation, development and monetization of intellectual property, today
commented on ZTE's actions in China.
With mounting losses in its world-wide dispute with Vringo, ZTE has chosen to
issue several immaterial press releases regarding developments from its home
jurisdiction.
ZTE's most recent press release regarding the June 1, 2015 hearing of its anti-
monopoly lawsuit against Vringo in China (which Vringo disclosed in a public
filing a week earlier), is yet another in a series of press releases attempting
to obscure the substantial losses that ZTE has suffered in its litigations with
Vringo, including:
* A recent finding by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New
York that ZTE breached the parties' non-disclosure agreement ("NDA"), a
court that previously issued a temporary restraining order against ZTE
enjoining ZTE from further violating the parties' NDA.
* A loss at trial in UK High Court which found that EP 1 212 919 (a Vringo
SEP) is valid and infringed by ZTE 3G RNCs and 4G LTE eNodeBs, a decision
which ZTE has forfeited its right to appeal.
* A preliminary injunction issued by a Brazilian court in Rio de Janeiro
related to BR 0013975 (which corresponds to EP 1,212,919) enjoining sales of
ZTE 3G RNCs and 4G LTE eNodeBs. The injunction was upheld after numerous
appeals by ZTE. The Brazilian Patent Office also issued a decision
supporting the validity of BR 0013975.
* A court-ordered raid of a ZTE warehouse in Hortolandia, São Paulo, Brazil
during which ZTE 4G LTE equipment was seized.
* A preliminary injunction issued by a Romanian court in Bucharest related to
EP 1,808,029 enjoining sales of ZTE 4G LTE mobile phones and infrastructure
equipment. The injunction was upheld after numerous appeals by ZTE. ZTE
has stated that the injunction will result in over EUR 30 million in
contractual penalties to ZTE.
* Rapid dissolution of a temporary restraining order and preliminary
injunction (attempting to overturn the Romanian injunction) issued by the
U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware after the court was
provided with the full picture of ZTE's request.
* The seizure of a large shipping container in the Netherlands containing ZTE
SDR base stations. The District Court of The Hague preliminarily found (1)
the seizure to be proper, (2) EP 1,186,119 to be valid and infringed by ZTE
SDR base stations, and (3) ZTE to be an unwilling licensee.
* An injunction issued by the Mannheim Regional Court (Germany) related to EP
1,186,119 (a Vringo standard-essential patent ("SEP")) after the court found
the patent to be infringed by ZTE SDR base stations and preliminary valid.
The court also found ZTE's behavior in its dealing with Vringo to be that of
an unwilling licensee.
* Preliminary injunctions issued by the Delhi High Court related to IN 243980
(a Vringo SEP) and IN 200572 enjoining sales of ZTE CDMA and GSM
equipment. These injunctions were subsequently substituted by an interim
arrangement by which ZTE was required to post a bond and inform Vringo of
all imports of certain ZTE products into India.
We believe that ZTE Corporation, headquartered in Shenzhen, China, is largely
state-owned. According to the company's 2014 annual report a state-owned
holding company owns approximately 30% of ZTE's outstanding shares.
ZTE has taken a number of actions against Vringo in China, including its anti-
monopoly lawsuit in the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court (ZTE's local court)
and reexaminations of Vringo's Chinese patents.
ZTE's anti-monopoly lawsuit, however, is based on settlement materials provided
by Vringo under the parties' NDA, which a New York federal court has already
determined was a breach by ZTE of the parties' NDA. In its New York
litigation, Vringo is seeking to recover damages including any damages that may
be awarded by the Shenzhen court.
Even in its home jurisdiction, ZTE has not found much success in attacking
Vringo's Chinese patents - 14 of Vringo's Chinese patents have been maintained
valid, another 2 patents have been found valid-in-part and only 9 patents (still
pending appeal) have been found invalid. Yet, ZTE is quick to issue press
releases regarding any Chinese reexamination that results in invalidation of a
Vringo patent. Such a strategy is consistent with ZTE's pattern of issuing
press releases on any perceived victory against Vringo, which includes a ZTE
press release regarding an approximate $2,000 fee that Vringo had to pay ZTE in
Malaysia.
In its press releases related to Vringo, ZTE constantly repeats that it respects
intellectual property rights. However, ZTE has refused to take a license to
Vringo's SEPs under FRAND terms for over 2.5 years - even after Vringo proved
its patents to be valid and/or infringed, Vringo proposed a license term sheet
(which ZTE chose not to negotiate), and Vringo proposed to have two courts and
neutral arbiters decide the terms of a license. This followed 10 years of
failed attempts by the prior owner of Vringo's SEPs to enter into a license
agreement with ZTE. Based on public information, ZTE also appears to have very
few SEP licenses considering how long ZTE has been in the market as well as
ZTE's size, the number of products it offers, and its global operations.
Moreover, ZTE implies that its filing of numerous patent applications and the
issuance of patents to ZTE demonstrates its respect for intellectual property
rights. But this proves nothing more than that ZTE has spent a tremendous
amount of money on patents and patent applications, the scope and value of which
are still unknown.
About Vringo, Inc.
Vringo, Inc. is engaged in the innovation, development and monetization of
intellectual property and mobile technologies. Vringo's intellectual property
portfolio consists of over 600 patents and patent applications covering telecom
infrastructure, internet search, and mobile technologies. The patents and
patent applications have been developed internally, and acquired from third
parties. For more information, visit:www.vringo.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements, which may be identified
by words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "projects,"
"intends," "should," "seeks," "future," "continue," or the negative of such
terms, or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are
statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein. Factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to:
our inability to license and monetize our patents, including the outcome of the
litigation against online search firms and other companies; our inability to
monetize and recoup our investment with respect to patent assets that we
acquire; our inability to develop and introduce new products and/or develop new
intellectual property; our inability to protect our intellectual property
rights; new legislation, regulations or court rulings related to enforcing
patents, that could harm our business and operating results; unexpected trends
in the mobile phone and telecom infrastructure industries; our inability to
raise additional capital to fund our combined operations and business plan; our
inability to maintain the listing of our securities on a major securities
exchange; the potential lack of market acceptance of our products; potential
competition from other providers and products; our inability to retain key
members of our management team; the future success of Infomedia and our ability
to receive value from its stock; our ability to continue as a going concern; our
liquidity and other risks and uncertainties and other factors discussed from
time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"),
including our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 16, 2015.
Vringo expressly disclaims any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statements contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Contacts:
Investors and Media:
Cliff Weinstein
Executive Vice President
Vringo, Inc.
646-532-6777
cweinstein(at)vringoinc.com
This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of
GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Vringo, Inc. via GlobeNewswire
[HUG#1917594]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 30.04.2015 - 15:20 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 389881
Anzahl Zeichen: 10303
contact information:
Town:
New York
Kategorie:
Business News
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