PowerDsine Ltd. (Farmingdale, NY), a leading provider of Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) technology, announced that it has reached a settlement in the litigation that it had commenced against Network-1 Security Solutions Inc. In its suit originally filed on March 31, 2004, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, PowerDsine sought a declaration that the Remote Power Patent (US Patent No. 6,218,930) owned by Network-1 is invalid and has not been infringed by PowerDsine or its customers.
Under the terms of the settlement, PowerDsine has agreed to dismiss with prejudice its suit against Network-1 in exchange for certain relief from liability for PowerDsine and its customers. Under the terms of the settlement, Network-1 has covenanted not to sue PowerDsine on account of the patent with respect to any of PowerDsine's integrated circuit products. In addition, Network-1 has covenanted not to seek damages from customers of PowerDsine that incorporate PowerDsine integrated circuit products into products manufactured on or before April 30, 2006. Network-1 has also agreed not to seek damages from PowerDsine or its customers for the sale of its Midspan products through the period ending 90 days after the dismissal date and has further agreed not to sue PowerDsine or its customers for the sale of its Midspan products until three years from the date of the settlement. No licenses to use the technologies covered by the Remote Power Patent were granted to PowerDsine or its customers under the terms of the settlement. PowerDsine, on its part, has agreed that it will not initiate or assist in litigation relating to the Remote Power Patent.
PowerDsine CEO Igal Rotem said, "We are pleased that we were able to reach an amicable settlement with Network-1 and at the same time obtain some relief for our customers. This settlement does not express any view on the validity or invalidity of the Remote Power Patent."
