CAYMAN ISLANDS, Nov. 3 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN)
announced that it has today received a decision of the District Court in The
Hague, Netherlands denying the preliminary injunction sought by TomTom
International B.V. in preliminary relief proceedings alleging infringement by
Garmin of a European registered design owned by TomTom. The court also
ordered TomTom to pay Garmin's 37,000 euros to cover attorney fees for
defending the preliminary relief proceedings.
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"We are pleased with the Dutch court's recognition that TomTom's
infringement allegations lack merit," said Andrew Etkind, Garmin's General
Counsel. "This baseless lawsuit was filed by TomTom after Garmin took legal
action against TomTom in the United States to stop TomTom's pervasive
infringement of Garmin's intellectual property rights."
Garmin's lawsuit against TomTom for infringement of five Garmin patents
is proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of
Wisconsin and the trial is scheduled for February 2007. Garmin has also
recently filed a lawsuit against TomTom in the U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of Texas for infringement of a sixth Garmin patent. After
the Wisconsin lawsuit was filed, TomTom, which does not hold any U.S. patents
for technology it developed itself, purchased three U.S. patents from Horizon
Navigation, Inc. and then asserted these patents in a counterclaim in the
Wisconsin lawsuit.
Garmin has also filed a lawsuit against TomTom in the Netherlands seeking
a declaration of non-infringement of the European registered design that was
asserted by TomTom in the preliminary relief proceedings. In addition,
Garmin has filed a lawsuit against TomTom in the United Kingdom to invalidate
a UK patent owned by TomTom.
Garmin currently owns 285 U.S. patents and 3 European registered designs
and has 165 patent applications pending. Garmin was recently selected as an
inaugural constituent of the Ocean Tomo 300 Patent Index based on the value
of Garmin's patent portfolio.
All statements included in this release, other than statements of
historical fact, are forward looking statements. These forward-looking
statements are based on our expectations, estimates and projections, all of
which are subject to change. The forward-looking statements in this release
speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update
publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason. Forward-looking
statements can often be identified by words such
as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "should", "would", "could
" and variations of these words or similar words and expressions. These
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and actual
results may differ materially and adversely as a result of risk factors
affecting Garmin, including our ability to prevail in the litigation against
TomTom; the ability of our patents to protect our intellectual property and
products; our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights; and the
risks associated with litigation in general, including the costs and time
that must be devoted to litigation, the potential diversion of management's
attention that may result from being engaged in litigation, and the
possibility of adverse results.
Through its operating subsidiaries, Garmin Ltd. designs, manufactures and
markets navigation, communication and information devices, most of which are
enabled by GPS technology. Garmin is a leader in the general aviation and
consumer markets, and its products serve aviation, marine, outdoor, fitness,
automotive, mobile and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in the
Cayman Islands, and is principal subsidiaries are located in the United
States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit the
Investor Relations site of Garmin Ltd. at http://www.garmin.com or contact
the Investor Relations department at 913-397-8200.
