20th Mar 2006 10:00
Antonov PLC20 March 2006 Antonov plc (the "Company") Update re patent case Antonov Plc announces that on 15 February 2006, Toyota Motor Company initiated alaw suit in Japan challenging the validity of Antonov patent JP 2894760 (theJapanese counterpart to Antonov patent EP 0414782). Toyota did not informAntonov or its current Japanese patent attorneys with regards to this action,which has only today become known, hence the delay to this announcement. Antonov and its legal advisers remain firmly of the view that Toyota's secondgeneration Prius vehicle infringes the Company's Intellectual Property rights.This is endorsed by the fact that Antonov has already rejected anunrealistically low offer from Toyota to settle and, as a result, has pursued anaction through the German court system with a judgment expected in August thisyear. Antonov's action has been taken in Germany, as detailed previously, as theGerman legal system provides a relatively rapid and very cost effective route toa legally binding decision. Antonov expects that the entire process should costin the region of EUR 100,000. Antonov believes that Toyota's action in Japan indicates its apparent lack ofconfidence with regards to winning the German court judgement. As a result,Toyota is attempting to force Antonov to incur significant costs via the courtsin Japan even though the Patent system there is equivalent to that In Europe. Antonov will defend its Japanese patent fully and has in place a put and calloption to the value of EUR 2 million to underwrite this action, with additionalfunding facilities available if required. Over the past fifteen years, Antonov has made substantial investments in a rangeof technologies with the common goal of improving the fuel efficiency of cars.Licences have been granted on reasonable terms to companies interested inapplying these technologies to their vehicles, most notably Honda Motor Co. Anumber of these technologies are on course for high volume productionapplication. Others are at an earlier stage of development. As a result of thesesignificant investments, Antonov will aggressively defend its IntellectualProperty when challenged. John Moore, CEO of Antonov commented: "As I have said before, we would not have taken legal action against Toyotaunless we were confident that we had a strong case. It is crucial that weprotect our patents and seek royalty payments in respect of all productsmanufactured or sold in the territories where our patent cover exists. Webelieve that Toyota has both infringed our patents as well as licensing thistechnology to other manufacturers. We are still prepared to be reasonable and toco-operate with Toyota on realistic terms. However, Toyota must be made awarethat its recent strategy will not intimidate Antonov in its defence of itspatents. We look forward to the German court's judgement in August." Patent details The patents in question cover the use of a drivetrain which balances the drivefrom an engine and an electric motor with the load from a vehicle and agenerator. For further information, please contact:Antonov plcJohn Moore, Chief Executive +44 (0)1223 421 740 Dawnay, Day Corporate Finance LimitedJonathan Garbett/Rod Venables +44 (0)20 7509 4570 BiddicksShane Dolan +44 (0)20 7448 1000 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Toyota Motor