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SUFFERN, N.Y., August 9, 1999 - Acticon Technologies
(Acticon), a division of General Patent Corporation
International (GPCI), has reached a settlement with
Play Incorporated (Play), Rancho Cordova, CA, in a patent
suit brought by Play against GPCI in April 1997. At
the conclusion of the mutual settlement agreement and
the subsequent stipulated judgement, the patents in
question remained valid and enforceable.
As part of the amicable settlement, Play agreed to
drop its affirmative claims against GPCI, and GPCI agreed
to license to Play two of its United States Patents,
specifically 4,603,320 and 4,972,470. In his Order,
Judge Frank Damrell, Jr. of the federal court in the
Eastern District of California stated, "U.S. Patent
nos. 4,603,320 and 4,972,470 are valid and enforceable."
"We are very pleased with this agreement,"
said Alexander Poltorak, GPCI's Chairman and CEO. "We
are happy that Play has chosen to license our patents,
and we wish them continued success with their products."
Michael Moore, Chairman and CEO of Play Incorporated,
said, "Play's intellectual property portfolio is
a key asset of our company and we are always pleased
to further Play's access to intellectual property while
reaching amicable licensing arrangements that benefit
Play."
Acticon's award-winning technology is based on the
U.S. Patent Nos. 4,603,320 "Connector Interface"
("'320") and 4,972,470 "Programmable
Connector ("'470"). The '320 is the basic
"smart connector" patent teaching the art
of embedding an electronic interface within the connector
housing. The '470 patent covers the smart connectors
with a higher level of "intelligence," where
the embedded interface is programmable. The Acticon
patent portfolio also includes U.S. Patent Nos. 4,686,506
"Multiple Connector Interface," and 4,543,450
"Integrated Connector and Modem." These patents
are available for non-exclusive licensing from Acticon
Technologies under favorable terms.
Play Incorporated was founded in 1994 by computer and
video industry pioneers with the goal of melding high-end
video and graphics capabilities to personal computers
and the Internet. Among its award winning products are
Snappy Video Snapshot, the all time best selling computer
video add-on, Trinity, which revolutionized TV production
and graphics throughout the world and GlobeCaster, the
world's first Internet TV station-in-a-box. For more
information call 800.306.PLAY or visit www.play.com.
GPCI is a technology transfer and Intellectual Property
Management boutique headquartered in Suffern, N.Y. GPCI
offers IP management services to corporate and academic
clients as well as individual inventors. These services
include patent licensing, patent enforcement, IP portfolio
valuation, IP portfolio management, and international
technology transfer.
Further information on GPCI and its patent activities
is available by contacting General Patent Corporation
International, 75 Montebello Road, Suffern, NY 10901;
telephone: (845) 368-4000; or e-mail at: info @ patentclaim.com.
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