News release |
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NOVEMBER 10, 2002 - 18:21 EST
Zi Corporation to Appeal Jury's Verdict and Damages Award Following Judge's Rulings in Tegic Litigation
Judge's Earlier Decision that Zi's Current Version of eZiText® Software Does Not Infringe Continues in Effect
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- Zi Corporation (Nasdaq: ZICA) (TSX: ZIC) today announced the outcome of the November 8 hearing in the U.S. patent infringement litigation between Zi and Tegic Communications Inc., a unit of AOL Time Warner. The trial judge denied various post-trial motions by Zi, including a motion to set aside the September 4 jury verdict and damages award in favour of Tegic. Zi will be filing motions to reconsider these decisions and to set the amount of security for appeal. The trial judge has not decided post-trial motions in which Tegic seeks enhancement of damages and entry of an injunction against Zi. The earliest these post-trial motions are likely to be heard is November 22, but a definitive date has not been set. After the trial judge has decided all post-trial motions, Zi intends to appeal the trial judge's decisions if not reconsidered in Zi's favour.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Lobsinger said, "We are obviously disappointed with the trial judge's ruling to not set aside the jury's verdict and damages award. We will be taking steps to have the damages award reconsidered by the trial judge as well as to set the amount of security for appeal. If the trial judge's decisions are not reconsidered, we intend to appeal all decisions, including the ruling upholding the validity of Tegic's U.S. patents. We intend to vigorously pursue those motions and appeals and are optimistic about our eventual success."
At a trial held in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco that concluded on September 4, the jury found in favor of Tegic in regard to the infringement claims and set an amount of damages of US$9 million. The jury's verdict on patent infringement involves only Zi's older version of eZiText, a product which was not being sold in the United States.
The trial judge's rulings in the November 8 hearing leave in effect the trial judge's February 21 summary judgment that Zi's current flagship product line does not infringe the Tegic patents. Zi's current version of eZiText software is sold to its customers worldwide, including those in the United States.
About Zi Corporation
Zi Corporation (www.zicorp.com) is a market-driven technology company delivering intelligent interface solutions to enhance the user experience of wireless and consumer technologies. The company's core technology products, eZiTap and eZiText, connect people to short messaging, e-mail, e-commerce, Web browsing and similar applications in almost any written language. eZiNet is a new network-based platform that enables handset manufacturers and network operators to provide users with access to media rich content and information stored on a network, despite the memory restrictions of the mobile device. Zi supports its strategic partners and customers from offices in Asia, Europe and North America. A publicly traded company, Zi Corporation is listed on the Nasdaq National Market (ZICA) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ZIC).
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For further information please contact:
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Allen & Caron Inc. Jill Bertotti Investor Inquiries (949) 474-4300 Email: jill@allencaron.com |
Zi Corporation - Investor Inquiries Dale Kearns Chief Financial Officer (403) 233-8875 Email: investor@zicorp.com Website: www.zicorp.com |
Allen & Caron Inc. Len Hall Business/Financial Media Inquiries (949) 474-4300 Email: len@allencaron.com |