EANS-Adhoc: ams AG / ams wins patent validity lawsuit launched by Melexis; existing patent infringement verdict against Melexis reinstated and in force

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Justice/Processes/Patents, Copyright & Trademarks 21.05.2014

Unterpremstaetten, Austria (21 May 2014) - ams (SIX: AMS), a leading worldwide manufacturer of high performance sensor and analog solutions, announces that the company has won a last-instance verdict against Melexis N.V./SA (Belgium) in the patent validity lawsuit launched by Melexis with respect to the European Patent EP 0 916 074 B1 covering magnetic field position sensor products.

The German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) in Karlsruhe (Germany) recently issued a final verdict validating the patent, which is exclusively held by ams, and nullifying Melexis' claim that the underlying contactless position sensor technology was not patentable. ams had expected to prevail in the last instance of the patentability lawsuit following its appeal of the first-instance decision by the Federal Patent Court (Bundespatentgericht) in Munich (Germany).

Given the patentability decision against Melexis the existing first-instance verdict in the patent infringement lawsuit against Melexis N.V./SA (Belgium) and its German subsidiary Melexis GmbH is fully reinstated. This lawsuit covers magnetic field position sensor products and European Patent EP 0 916 074 B1 and was brought before the District Court (Landgericht) in Duesseldorf (Germany) by ams. As a consequence, Melexis continues to carry the risk of financial damages for patent infringement being awarded to ams on the basis of the valid infringement verdict.

Bernd Gessner, Executive VP and General Manager Business Unit Automotive at ams, commented: "We are delighted by the Federal Supreme Court decision validating our patent which has been exclusively held by ams since 2003. We are spending significant amounts of time, effort, and money to develop the technologies driving our products and will continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property (IP) against unauthorized use or infringement."

ams is the worldwide leader in high resolution magnetic field sensor solutions. ams' extensive range of rotary and linear position sensors provides robust, contactless position measurement for virtually countless applications.

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about ams

ams develops and manufactures high performance analog semiconductors that solve its customers' most challenging problems with innovative solutions. ams' products are aimed at applications which require extreme precision, accuracy, dynamic range, sensitivity, and ultra-low power consumption. ams' product range includes sensors, sensor interfaces, power management ICs and wireless ICs for customers in the consumer, industrial, medical, mobile communications and automotive markets.

With headquarters in Austria, ams employs over 1,400 people globally and serves more than 7,800 customers worldwide. ams is listed on the SIX Swiss stock exchange (ticker symbol: AMS). More information about ams can be found at www.ams.com.

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   May 21, 2014 01:20 ET (05:20 GMT)- - 01 20 AM EDT 05-21-14