EXTON, Penn., April 5, 2000 (PRIMEZONE) -- CFM Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:CFMT) announced today that the United States District Court for the District of Delaware has granted YieldUP International's motion for summary judgment of invalidity in a lawsuit brought by CFM, alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 4,917,123 and 4,778,532. A separate action alleging infringement of U.S. Patent No. 4,911,761 by YieldUP is still pending.
"Our rights with regard to the '761 patent have been upheld consistently since 1997 in Court rulings in our litigation against Steag MicroTech, Inc.," said Roger Carolin, CFM's President and Chief Executive Officer. "While we are disappointed with this decision, the Court's ruling does not challenge or diminish those rights. We continue to seek a permanent injunction preventing YieldUP and its parent, FSI International Inc., from using, making or selling equipment that violates this patent which covers key aspects of the Company's Direct Displacement(TM) drying technology."
The Company declined to announce whether it will appeal today's decision.
The discussion above includes certain forward-looking statements with regard to the outcome of pending patent litigation. As such, actual results may vary materially from such expectations. CFM believes that it will prevail in the legal proceedings described above; however, there can be no assurance of such outcome, and an adverse determination in this proceeding could have a material adverse effect on the Company.
CFM Technologies, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of advanced cleaning equipment for the semiconductor industry. CFM's systems provide superior contamination control and processing capabilities using a totally enclosed processing chamber. CFM's Direct-Displace(tm) IPA vapor-drying technology eliminates watermarks and other drying defects. CFM historically has developed technical innovations to lower cost of ownership for advanced wet processing systems.