In April 2005, Antonov Plc, the automotive technology company, filed an infringement action against Toyota at the Patent Court in Düsseldorf alleging infringement of its patents by the driveline of the Toyota Prius and Lexus RX400h. The company, importantly, also believes that Toyota has licensed the technology for use in other manufacturers’ products.

The case received its preliminary hearing on 22nd September 2005 having previously been postponed by the company to allow further negotiations with Toyota in order to reach a satisfactory settlement.

John Moore, Antonov’s CEO commented: "To date, Toyota’s offer does not reflect a fair payment for the use of Antonov’s intellectual property in all relevant vehicles sold to date and for those that will be sold through to the expiry of the patents." Antonov’s patents cover the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy in Europe and also Japan.

As a result, and in line with Antonov’s expectations, the Patent Court in Düsseldorf announced the following timetable at the hearing on 22nd September. The oral hearing for the case will be heard on 29th August 2006. Prior to this hearing, the courts have set a timetable for the parties to prepare their submissions. Toyota has until 16th January 2006 to respond to Antonov’s writ. Antonov is then provided with the opportunity to address Toyota’s response by 2nd May 2006. Toyota then has a final opportunity to refine their defence by 7th August 2006 shortly before the oral hearing.

Antonov’s legal action was taken after a process of in-depth consultation with patent, legal and automotive industry experts. The action has been taken in Germany, as detailed previously, as the German legal system provides a relatively rapid and very cost effective route to a legally binding decision. Antonov expects that the entire process should cost in the region of €100,000.

John Moore added: "We would not take legal action against Toyota unless we were confident that we had a strong case. It is important that we protect our patents and seek royalty payments in respect of all products manufactured or sold in the territories where our patent cover exists. We believe that Toyota has both infringed our patents as well as licensed this technology to other manufacturers. We will continue to seek a negotiated settlement but have made provision to pursue the case through the courts if this proves to be necessary".

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