August 13, 2008--Asylum Research Corporation (Santa Barbara, CA), a manufacturer of atomic-force microscopes (AFMs) and accessories, as well as AFMs integrated with confocal microscopes, announced that the patent litigation between it and Veeco Instruments Inc. (Plainview, NY) that started in September 2003 has been settled. Veeco also makes AFMs, as well as scanning-probe microscopes, stylus and optical profilers, process equipment, and epitaxial equipment.
According to Asylum, under the terms of the settlement Asylum and Veeco have agreed to drop all pending claims against each other and agreed to a five year, worldwide cross license of each other's patents and a mutual covenant not to sue on patents either party has a right to assert. Asylum will pay an initial license fee to Veeco plus an ongoing royalty for the five-year term of the cross license. As part of the settlement, Asylum acknowledged the validity of the Veeco patents asserted in the case. Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Jason Cleveland, CEO of Asylum, said, "The cross-licensing of portfolios will allow both us and Veeco to bring better products to market, which is good news for customers."