HILLSBORO, Ore., Aug. 20, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FEI Company (Nasdaq:FEIC) announced today that it has reached a mutually acceptable agreement with Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation ("HHT") to settle an ongoing dispute regarding certain HHT patents relating to focused ion beam ("FIB") systems. In exchange for HHT's agreement to dismiss all currently pending claims and to grant future license rights to FEI for the FIB patents, FEI will make a one-time payment of $15 million to HHT. Both parties have issued a cross license on various elements of intellectual property, the specifics of which are confidential.
Brad Thies, senior vice president and general counsel of FEI, commented, "We are pleased to have come to agreement with Hitachi on these patent issues and bring to a close these various long-standing disputes. The licensing of the patents from Hitachi allows FEI to continue to enrich and improve the capability of our products for our customers."
FEI has previously recorded charges of $5.4 million related to pending claims pursuant to this patent dispute. The remaining $9.6 million of the payment announced today will be recorded as prepaid royalties and amortized over a period estimated at approximately seven years.
About FEI
FEI Company (Nasdaq:FEIC) is a leading supplier of scientific instruments for nanoscale applications across many industries: materials science, life sciences, semiconductors, data storage, natural resources and more. With more than 60 years of technological innovation and leadership, FEI has set the performance standard in transmission electron microscopes (TEM), scanning electron microscopes (SEM) and DualBeams™, which combine a SEM with a focused ion beam (FIB). Headquartered in Hillsboro, Ore., USA, FEI has over 2,300 employees and sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world. More information can be found at: www.fei.com.
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