PLAINVIEW, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 2008--Veeco Instruments
Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO), today announced that it has settled the patent
litigation which it had brought against Asylum Research Corporation in
2003.
Under the terms of the settlement, Veeco and Asylum agreed to drop
all pending claims against each other and agreed to a five year,
worldwide cross license of each company's patents and a mutual
covenant not to sue on patents either party has a right to assert.
Asylum will make a net payment to Veeco plus an ongoing royalty to
Veeco for the five-year term of the cross license. As part of the
settlement, Asylum acknowledged the validity of the Veeco patents
asserted in the case. Other terms of the license were not disclosed.
John R. Peeler, Chief Executive Officer of Veeco, commented "We
are pleased to have reached this favorable settlement with Asylum that
values our technology and validates our patents. Veeco has invested
tens of millions of dollars in intellectual property and research and
development for AFM technology, and this investment has helped us to
bring the best AFM products to the marketplace. This settlement is a
significant milestone for our employees, customers and shareholders,
and we will continue to protect our valuable intellectual property, as
necessary, in the future."
Mark Munch, Ph.D., Veeco's Executive Vice President, Metrology &
Instrumentation, commented "We are gratified by this outcome, which
speaks to the strength of Veeco's position in the AFM market.
Innovation and leadership in AFM technology is a cornerstone of Veeco,
and we will continue to invest heavily in R&D to deliver exciting new
high performance products that enable the success of our customers."
Veeco is the world leader in atomic force and scanning probe
microscopy, with an installed base of over 8,000 systems at university
and research/nanotechnology centers worldwide. In this lawsuit, Veeco
alleged that the manufacture, use and sale of Asylum's MFP-3D atomic
force microscope constituted infringement of Veeco patents. Asylum is
a private company founded by former Veeco employees.
About Veeco
Veeco Instruments Inc. manufactures enabling solutions for
customers in the HB-LED, solar, data storage, semiconductor,
scientific research and industrial markets. We have leading technology
positions in our three businesses: LED & Solar Process Equipment, Data
Storage Process Equipment, and Metrology Instruments. Veeco's
manufacturing and engineering facilities are located in New York, New
Jersey, California, Colorado, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Minnesota.
Global sales and service offices are located throughout the U.S.,
Europe, Japan and APAC. http://www.veeco.com/
To the extent that this news release discusses expectations or
otherwise makes statements about the future, such statements are
forward-looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
statements made. These factors include the risks discussed in the
Business Description and Management's Discussion and Analysis sections
of Veeco's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2007 and in our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current
reports on Form 8-K and press releases. Veeco does not undertake any
obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future
events or circumstances after the date of such statements.
CONTACT: Veeco Instruments Inc.
Financial:
Debra Wasser, 516-677-0200 x1472
SVP Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
or
Media:
Fran Brennen, 516-677-0200 x1222
Senior Director Marcom
SOURCE: Veeco Instruments Inc.