Korean Patent Court Reverses Korean Intellectual Property Office Ruling on Certain Claims of Two FormFactor Patents
LIVERMORE, Calif. Oct. 27, 2005 FormFactor, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORM), announced the Korean Patent Court issued an oral ruling holding invalid certain claims of two of four Korean Patents asserted by FormFactor against Phicom Corporation. Following normal practice, the basis for the ruling was not given and a written opinion explaining the ruling would typically be expected in one to three weeks. FormFactor is asserting against Phicom two other Korean Patents that the Korean Intellectual Property Office has confirmed valid over Phicom's challenges, which Phicom has appealed. These two patents are not affected by today's Patent Court ruling. FormFactor's issued U.S. patents, including the four patents that the Company is asserting against Phicom in federal court in Oregon are also not affected by the Patent Court decision.
"Today's ruling by the Korean Patent Court is one event in the course of a comprehensive litigation in multiple jurisdictions involving multiple patents," said Stuart Merkadeau, FormFactor's senior vice president and general counsel. "We are awaiting the written decision from the Patent Court to understand and evaluate the substantive merits of the ruling and to finalize plans for an appeal. We have two other Korean patents we are asserting against Phicom and are moving forward aggressively with the US litigation. We remain confident in the strength of our global patent portfolio."
About FormFactor
FormFactor, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORM) is an industry leader in the design, development, manufacture, sale and support of precision, high-performance advanced semiconductor wafer probe cards. The Company's products are based on its proprietary technologies, including its MicroSpring interconnect technology and design processes, which enable FormFactor to produce wafer probe cards for test applications that require reliability, speed, precision and signal integrity. FormFactor is headquartered in Livermore, California. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.formfactor.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding business momentum, future growth and the performance of our products. These forward-looking statements are based on current information and expectations that are inherently subject to change and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results might differ materially from those in any forward-looking statement due to various factors, including, but not limited to: any ruling by the Korean Patent Court on the two other FormFactor Korean patents currently being asserted against Phicom, the likelihood of success of any appeal of the Patent Court decisions, the relative strength of the Company's global patent portfolio, and the Company's ability to protect and enforce its intellectual property rights. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those in any forward looking statement is contained in the Company's Form 10-Q for the period ending June 25, 2005, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and subsequent filings. Copies of filings made by the Company with the SEC are available at http://investors.formfactor.com/edgar.cfm. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information in this press release, to revise any forward-looking statements or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements.
Contacts:
FormFactor, Inc.
Ron C. Foster
Chief Financial Officer
(925) 290-4023
StreetSmart Investor Relations
Brooke Deterline
Annie Leschin
(925) 456-3911
IR@formfactor.com