Re: AAROFLEX RESPONDS TO ALLEGED LITIGATION

From: Brian David Vanhiel (gt0193a@prism.gatech.edu)
Date: Wed Jan 15 1997 - 22:21:03 EET


How can you be:

"committed to avoiding illusion and being open, honest and thorough, with
our customers and competitors alike"

if:

"No competitor has viewed AAROFLEX technology or any of our commercial
systems currently in production."???

Just a question.

Brian David VanHiel
340193 Georgia Tech Station
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
e-mail: gt0193a@prism.gatech.edu

On Tue, 14 Jan 1997, K. Kaisha Halcli wrote:

> AAROFLEX RESPONDS TO ALLEGED LITIGATION
>
> For further information:
> K. Kaisha Halcli, Vice President
> 703.573.0690 - khalcli@aaroflex.com
>
> FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, USA, January 14, 1997 - AAROFLEX, Inc. has received
> numerous inquiries related to the lawsuit reportedly filed by an industry
> competitor alleging infringement and unfair competition by our company. As
> has been true since our entry in the marketplace, we are committed to
> avoiding illusion and being open, honest and thorough, with our customers
> and competitors alike, related to our technology, our equipment and our
> business activities.
>
> The general concept of "stereolithography" is not protected under any
> patents held by the companies manufacturing commercially-available rapid
> prototyping systems. The partial concept, previously referred to as
> "photo-glyph recording" by patent holder Otto John Munz, was first
> introduced to the public domain upon the expiration of his US patent
> 2,775,758 in 1973. Articles published by the Japanese researcher Hideo
> Kodama in 1981 and 3M's (not to be confused with 3D) Alan J. Herbert in 1982
> further established the concept as public domain material. Patent
> infringement in the area of stereolithography, then, entails infringement in
> the specific mechanics, not the more general functions and features, of a
> stereolithography system -- somewhat similar to the product differentiations
> in the makes and models of cars, computers or coffee makers. The extensive
> patent protection in this area which has been awarded the I.E. DuPont de
> Nemours and Company (DuPont) and 3D Systems, Inc. complemented by the
> current applications of AAROFLEX, Inc. serve to solidify and protect these
> companies' dominance in the stereolithography marketplace in the United States.
>
> AAROFLEX, Inc. acquired certain patent rights to the DuPont solid imaging
> ("stereolithography") technology in 1995. Since 1993, AAROFLEX, Inc. and
> its predecessor organization have been developing new subsystems and, as a
> result, AAROFLEX, Inc. has several patent applications in process. To date,
> AAROFLEX has received no cease and desist letters from any competitor
> related to our technology nor has AAROFLEX been served with any formal
> complaints. No competitor has viewed AAROFLEX technology or any of our
> commercial systems currently in production. Therefore, any lawsuit alleging
> infringement by our equipment would be based upon assumption -- not fact.
>
> When, and if, AAROFLEX receives service of a formal complaint, we will issue
> a public statement and will aggressively defend the interests of our
> customers, our company, and the healthy competitive environment of this
> industry. We continue to look forward to contributing to the advancement
> and growth of rapid prototyping technologies and applications and will
> endeavor to continue business as usual. AAROFLEX welcomes the opportunity,
> once and for all, to clarify our position in the marketplace and prove our
> technology and equipment among the users of rapid prototyping technologies.
>
> AAROFLEX, Inc. is manufacturer of the AAROFLEX Solid Imager, a rapid
> prototyping system, based upon the public domain concept which has come to
> be called "stereolithography", the patented advancements of DuPont and the
> further enhancements of AAROFLEX, Inc.
>
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