14th Feb 2006 07:30
Antonov PLC14 February 2006 Antonov plc ("Antonov" or the "Company") Toyota Infringement Case Update In April 2005, Antonov plc, the automotive technology company, filed aninfringement action against Toyota at the Patent Court in Dusseldorf alleginginfringement of its patents by the driveline of the Toyota Prius and LexusRX400h. The Dusseldorf Court has recently received Toyota's response to theAntonov suit. This response will be studied by Antonov's lawyers. In addition,the Munich Federal Patent Court has set the hearing of Toyota's counter suitregarding the validity of the Antonov patent for 23 August 2006. This is earlierthan was originally expected. It is anticipated that the infringement case in Dusseldorf will be concluded on28 August 2006. As a result, a clear view of the strength of the Antonov case asjudged by the German legal system will emerge before the end of August 2006.This fulfils the Company's strategy of pursuing this action in Germany tofacilitate a swift and cost effective legally-binding decision. John Moore, CEO of Antonov, said: "The Directors of Antonov are pleased at the speed at which events areproceeding and we remain very confident in the strength of our case." For further information, please contact: Antonov plcJohn Moore, Chief Executive 01223 421 740 Dawnay, Day Corporate Finance LimitedJonathan Garbett/Rod Venables 020 7509 4570 BiddicksShane Dolan 020 7448 1000 Patent details The case relates to Antonov patent EP 0414782 and covers the use of a drivetrainwhich balances the drive from an engine and an electric motor with the load froma vehicle and a generator. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Toyota Motor