Canon’s appeal of a jury verdict that Nano-Proprietary could end ...
Canon’s appeal of a jury verdict that Nano-Proprietary could end a licensing agreement for its carbon nanotube technology will be decided by first quarter 2008 “at the earliest,” said Douglas Baker, Nano-Proprietary’s chief financial officer. Canon filed briefs with…
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the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in August and Nano-Proprietary in October, and reply briefs are expected in December or January, Baker said. In May, a federal jury in Beaumont, Tex., rejected Nano-Proprietary’s bid for $217 million damages, but said it could keep the $5.5 million Canon paid for a nonexclusive license in 1999 and end the deal. Nano- Proprietary sued Canon in 2005, claiming it broke their contract by sub-licensing the technology to the SED Inc. joint venture it formed the year before with Toshiba. Canon and Toshiba, which developed 36W and 55W SED panels, parted ways on the venture this year. Canon had said it would start pilot production at its Hiratsuka, Japan, plant. Meanwhile, a status conference is scheduled for December in Nano- Proprietary’s suit against inventor Till Keesmann. Legal proceedings in the case were suspended earlier this year as the sides explored “some alternatives” (CED July 13 p5). Those talks didn’t signal a settlement, company officials have said. In February, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction barring Keesmann from ending a Nano-Proprietary license for carbon-nanotube technology (CED Feb 20 p5). Nano-Proprietary paid Keesmann $1.2 million in 2004 under their agreement; a year later he asked for the right to auction off its interest in the pact. Keesmann sought to sell the patents to NPV Nano Patent GmbH, arguing that Nano- Proprietary didn’t “actively market” the three patents. Keesmann allegedly sought to license the patent to Canon. Keesmann bought the rights to the carbon nanotube invention from Hubert Grosse-Wilde in 1994 for $6,400 and a promise to pay 30 percent of future profits, according to court records. Nano-Proprietary signed a licensing agreement with Keesmann in 2000.