United States Appellate Court Rules in Buffalo's Favor in Ongoing U.S. Patent Litigation


AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 24, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking, storage and memory solutions today released a statement, providing an update regarding the status of the ongoing U.S. patent litigation with respect to the offer to sell, use, import or manufacture of Buffalo's IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g standard compliant products in Commonwealth Scientific Research and Industrial Organization v. Buffalo Technology (USA), Inc. and Buffalo, Inc.

The Australian science agency, CSIRO, sued Buffalo, Inc. and its U.S. affiliate Buffalo Technology (USA), Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleging that Buffalo's products infringed its U.S. Patent 5,487,069, which concerns Wi-Fi technology relating to the transmission of wireless signals. After the district court held that Buffalo's products infringed certain claims of the patent and that those claims were valid, the district court ordered Buffalo to stop selling its allegedly infringing products in the U.S. Buffalo appealed that order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

On September 19, 2008, the Federal Circuit ruled in Buffalo's favor and has remanded this case to the district court ruling that the district court's Summary Judgment was insufficient on the merits of obviousness of CSIRO's patent. Therefore, this case will be tried again before the district court.

In this connection, Buffalo is hopeful that it will shortly be permitted to, once again, sell IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g compliant products in the United States.

"Buffalo appreciates the rulings of the Federal Circuit and we are very pleased to have an opportunity to get our case defended at jury trial," said Masanao Tsuzuki, director of Buffalo Inc.

Buffalo expects that the district court will, in the near future, schedule a trial on whether the patent claims are invalid because the claims were "obvious" at the time CSIRO filed for its patent, and will put forth every effort to prevail the retrial at the district court.

About Buffalo Technology

Buffalo Technology (USA), Inc., based in Austin, Texas, is a leading global provider of award-winning networking, storage, multimedia and memory solutions for the home and small business environments as well as for system builders and integrators. With almost three decades of networking and computer peripheral experience, Buffalo has proven its commitment to delivering innovative, best-of-breed solutions that have put the company at the forefront of infrastructure technology. For more information about Buffalo Technology and its products, please visit www.buffalotech.com.

Buffalo, Inc. trademark statements. Buffalo is a trademark of Buffalo, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.


            

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