1 May 2012 07:00
Amphion Partner Company, AXCESS, Receives Markman ruling in Savi Litigation
London and New York, 1 May 2012 - Amphion Innovations plc (LSE: AMP), announces that a Markman ruling was issued in case no. 3:10-cv-01033-F, Axcess International, Inc. (Axcess) vs. Savi Technology, Inc. (Savi) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. Also announced is the trial date, now set for November 5, 2012.
Amphion Partner Company, Axcess International was issued a patent on September 25, 2001 entitled "High Sensitivity Demodulator for a Radio Tag and Method". The patent discloses a radio tag that uses circuitry capable of demodulating low powered analog carrier signals while drawing minimal current to improve the sensitivity and operational range of the radio tag while maintaining longer battery life. Axcess filed suit against Savi on May 21, 2010 accusing Savi's RFID tags of infringing 23 claims of the patent.
A "Markman" hearing is a pretrial hearing in a U.S. District Court during which a judge examines evidence from all parties on the appropriate meanings of relevant key words used in a patent claim, when patent infringement is alleged. Holding a Markman hearing in patent infringement cases has been common practice since the case of Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc.. It was determined the language of a patent is a matter of law for a judge to decide, not a matter of fact for a jury to decide. Markman hearings are important, since the court determines patent infringement cases by the interpretation of claims.
Included in the Order were nine disputed and nine agreed-to claims. The Court construed each of the nine disputed claims in the ruling. The Court also resolved one of the parties' fundamental disputes about the scope of the patent. The Court said that the novelty of the invention was a new and improved tag to receive, process, evaluate, and respond to much weaker signals than such tags were capable of doing before, also increasing the operable life span of the radio tag as well as the distance over which the tag can operate.
"Having reached this important milestone, we now look forward to the trial in early November. We encourage interested parties to read the Order", said Allan Griebenow, President & CEO of Axcess International. "Axcess remains fully committed to the protection of this patent and others in our intellectual property portfolio."
While Amphion believes the above described ruling can be favorable to Axcess the ruling does not automatically mean that Axcess will prevail at trial. A copy of the Court's ruling can be downloaded from the Company's website at www.axcessinc.com.
As a result of additional investment in support of Axcess over the last few years, Amphion Innovations' holdings of equity and warrants now amount to about 14% of the fully diluted outstanding. In addition, Amphion holds approximately $1.8 million of debt, most of which is convertible into common stock.
For further information please contact:
Amphion Innovations
Charlie Morgan:
+1 (212) 210-6224
Cardew Group
Tim Robertson
+44 020 7930 0777
Seymour Pierce Limited, Nominated Adviser
Mark Percy/ Freddy Crossley:
+44 020 7107 8300
About Amphion Innovations plc
Amphion (LSE: AMP) builds shareholder value in emerging companies in the medical and technology sectors, by using a focused, hands-on company building approach, based on decades of experience in both the US and UK. Amphion has a significant shareholding in 7 Partner Companies developing proven technologies targeting substantial commercial marketplaces. The Amphion model has been refined to optimise the commercialisation of patents and other intellectual property within the Partner Companies. The Partner Companies collectively own or control over 200 separately identified pieces of intellectual property, a number which grows rapidly each year.
On the web: www.amphionplc.com
About Axcess International Inc.
Axcess International Inc. (OTCBB: AXSI) provides automated wireless identification solutions for business encompassing local location identification, tracking and control capabilities using its patented MicroWirelessTM technology platform. The complete system solutions supersede existing manual ID systems by automating various tasks that increase productivity, security, safety and business intelligence. MicroWireless - based on active RFID principles - is the economic and technological sweet spot for autonomously-powered low cost, miniature, remote wireless communication devices. Axcess is a portfolio company of Amphion Innovations plc (AIM: AMP). For more information on Axcess, visit www.axcessinc.com.