Binghamton, NY -- A Texas court has entered final judgement in favor of Universal Instruments Corp., a subsidiary of Dover Corp., following a three-week jury trial in Houston.  All 17 claims of the asserted software patent were found invalid and not infringed. 

According to Universal, the suit, filed in 2002, is one of an increasing number of patent cases brought by companies whose primary business model is licensing and litigation of patent assets—typically, with the assistance of contingency fee lawyers. In this case, the plaintiffs alleged that the GSM Platform for surface mount placement of components on PCBs infringed U.S. Patent 5,283,943. The plaintiffs waived their right to appeal in return for Universal's agreement not to seek costs or attorney fees.

"Universal Instruments made a decision three years ago to take a stand and defend against this growing problem" said Patrick J. Gillard, CFO. "We have come to recognize that the cost of litigation settlements that seek to avoid the risks of a jury trial of an otherwise meritorious defense are not a good long-term solution to this problem. Although it is costly in the short term to litigate one of these complex cases in front of a jury we felt it was time to take a stand, and we did."

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