Laser industry rivals settle patent lawsuit
February 6--IPG Photonics Corp. and Newport Corp have settled patent infringement claims made against IPG by Spectra-Physics Inc., a subsidiary of Newport, as well as IPG's counterclaims against Spectra-Physics. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
The settlement related to a complaint filed with the US District Court for the Northern District of California in June 2006 by Spectra-Physics alleging that some IPG Photonics optical fiber laser and amplifier products infringed a US patent it owned. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing IPG made in October, Spectra-Physics was seeking damages of more than $20 million for patent claims relating to laser-diode pumping of a single-mode fiber core of laser material through the use of a surrounding multimode pump cavity. The patent expires in June 2007.
IPG Photonics does not expect the agreement to have a material impact on its financial statements or condition, the company said in a statement.
The case was dismissed with prejudice under the settlement agreement.