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Sidley Announces Settlement of Patent Infringement Claims Against Fourth LED Manufacturer
NEW YORK-(Business Wire)-May 6, 2008 - Sidley Austin LLP announced today that firm client Professor Gertrude Neumark Rothschild has settled her patent infringement claims against Epistar Corporation, a Taiwanese corporation. The terms of the settlement are undisclosed. The Sidley team consisted of James D. Zirin and Ashe Puri, partner and associate respectively. Peter Toren of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP served as co-counsel. Professor Neumark had previously settled patent infringement claims against Toyoda Gosei, a Japanese entity, Osram, a German corporation, and against Philips Lumileds this past May for an undisclosed settlement.
Professor Neumark had alleged that Epistar had infringed U.S. Patent No. 4,904,618, "Process for Doping Crystals of Wide Band Gap Semiconductors," and U.S. Patent No. 5,252,499, "Wide Band-Gap Semiconductors Having Low Bipolar Resistivity and Method of Formation" through the unauthorized manufacture, importation, use, sale and/or offer for sale of light emitting diodes ("LEDs") and laser diode created using the processes described and claimed in each of these patents. LEDs are semiconductor diodes which convert electricity into light. Semiconductors are materials with resistivities in the range between metals and insulators, in which the electrical charge carrier concentration increases with increasing temperature over a given temperature range. Despite the recognized potential of LEDs, their commercial use was initially limited because it was not commercially feasible to produce LEDs in blue, green and other high spectral ranges. Through the process claimed in Professor Neumark's patents, it has become commercially feasible to produce such LEDs, and they have increasingly gained general acceptance as a superior lighting source.
Professor Neumark is one of the world's foremost experts on doping wide band-gap semiconductors. During research work at Columbia University, she conceived of the doping process that has had a significant impact on the quality of consumer products. In addition to the blue laser, her patented processes to create blue and ultraviolet LEDs are now used in a large number of products ranging from flat screen TVs, computers, traffic lights, instrument panels, as the background color for mobile-phone screens, in multicolor displays and in numerous other lighting applications.
Professor Neumark is Howe Professor Emerita of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor Emerita of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics and a Special Research Scientist, Columbia University, New York, New York, from where she also received her Ph.D in chemistry in 1949. She was the first woman to hold a named Chair in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University.
Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world's largest full-service law firms, with more than 1800 lawyers practicing in 16 U.S. and international cities including Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Every year since 2003, Sidley has been named to Legal Business' Global Elite, their designation for "the 15 finest law firms in the world." BTI, a Boston-based consulting and research firm, has named Sidley to their Client Service Hall of Fame as one of only two law firms to rank in the Client Service Top 10 for seven years in a row.
For purposes of the New York State Bar rules, this press release may be considered Attorney Advertising and the headquarters of the firm are Sidley Austin LLP 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, 212.839.5300 and Sidley Austin LLP One South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60603, 312.853.7000. Prior results described herein do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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