VRINGO FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST ZTE IN FRANCE
NEW YORK - April 1, 2013 - Vringo, Inc. (NYSE MKT: VRNG), a company engaged in the innovation, development and monetization of mobile technologies and intellectual property, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Vringo Infrastructure, Inc., expanded its global patent enforcement activities against ZTE by filing a patent infringement lawsuit in France against ZTE Corporation, China and its French subsidiary, ZTE France SASU.
Vringo Infrastructure filed the lawsuit based on particular information uncovered during a seizure to obtain evidence of infringement, known as a saisie-contrefaçon, which was executed at two of ZTE's facilities in France. The lawsuit was filed on March 29th in the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris, alleging infringement of the French part of European Patents 1,186,119 and 1,221,212 by ZTE devices, which are believed to fall within the scope of these patents.
According to the complaint, Vringo is seeking injunctive relief, rendering of accounts and damages.
"This French suit is part of Vringo's global licensing and enforcement program. The asserted patents cover fundamental aspects of wireless network operation, and are a part of our much larger worldwide telecom portfolio. ZTE has no license under the patents in our portfolio. As we wrote in our letter to ZTE of last year, we invite ZTE to take a license from Vringo. If ZTE does not agree to a license with us, then we will ask courts throughout the world for appropriate relief," said David L. Cohen, Esq., Head of Licensing, Litigation and Intellectual Property at Vringo.
Background on Vringo Litigations Against ZTE
On October 5, 2012, Vringo Infrastructure, Inc., filed a lawsuit against the UK subsidiary of ZTE Corporation in the UK High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, Patents Court, alleging infringement of European Patents (UK) 1,212,919; 1,166,589; and 1,808,029. Vringo Infrastructure filed an additional lawsuit in the UK on December 3, 2012, alleging infringement of European Patents (UK) 1,221,212; 1,330,933; and 1,186,119. The UK complaints allege that ZTE's cellular network elements fall within the scope of all six patents, and ZTE's GSM/UMTS multi-mode wireless handsets also fall within the scope of at least the 1,808,029 patent. Declarations have been filed at the European Telecommunications and Standards Institute (ETSI) that cover all the patent applications from which the patents in suit are derived. According to the complaint, Vringo is seeking a declaration that its patents have been infringed by ZTE's activities and that the court use its full legal, equitable and injunctive power to stop ZTE's activities as may be appropriate in the circumstances. A case management conference where, among other matters, the schedule for the UK lawsuits will be set, is anticipated in June 2013.
On November 15, 2012, Vringo Germany GmbH filed a lawsuit against ZTE Corporation and its German subsidiary, ZTE Deutschland GmbH, in the Mannheim Regional Court in Germany, alleging infringement of European Patent (DE) 1,212,919. On February 21, 2013, Vringo Germany GmbH expanded the lawsuit to include a second patent, alleging infringement of European Patent (DE) 1,186,119. According to the complaint, Vringo is seeking injunctive relief, rendering of accounts, recall and destruction of allegedly infringing products as well as damages. A consolidated trial is scheduled to be held on October 15, 2013.
ZTE describes itself as "a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions," with recently reported annual revenue of US $13.7 billion (RMB 86.254 billion), according to filings with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. According to ZTE's public filings, the company generates its revenue primarily from the sale of telecommunications equipment and handsets.
Further information about these cases and the court procedures is available in Vringo's annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 21, 2013.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements, which may be identified by words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "projects," "intends," "should," "seeks," "future," "continue," or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: our inability to license and monetize our patents, including the outcome of the litigation against online search firms and other companies; our inability to monetize and recoup our investment with respect to patent assets that we acquire; our inability to develop and introduce new products and/or develop new intellectual property; new legislation, regulations or court rulings related to enforcing patents, that could harm our business and operating results; the inability to realize the potential value created by the merger with Innovate/Protect for our stockholders; unexpected trends in the mobile phone and telecom infrastructure industries; our inability to raise additional capital to fund our combined operations and business plan; our inability to maintain the listing of our securities on a major securities exchange; the potential lack of market acceptance of our products; potential competition from other providers and products; our inability to retain key members of our management team; and other risks and uncertainties and other factors discussed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 21, 2013. Vringo expressly disclaims any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Contacts
Investors and Media:
Cliff Weinstein
Executive Vice President
Vringo, Inc.
646-532-6777
cweinstein@vringoinc.com