Supplier barred from selling wafer carriers for competitor's MOCVD tools
PLAINVIEW, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 11/16/17 -- Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) announced today that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York has denied SGL Carbon, LLC's (SGL) motion to suspend the November 2, 2017 preliminary injunction issued by the court prohibiting SGL's sale of wafer carriers for use in MOCVD systems made by Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. (AMEC). SGL had filed a motion requesting that the court suspend, or "stay," the preliminary injunction pending a forthcoming appeal by SGL to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC).
"We are pleased that the court confirmed its prior ruling and denied SGL's request to stay the injunction," said John R. Peeler, Chairman and CEO of Veeco. "We are confident that we will prevail before the appellate court in any appeal by SGL, and will continue to take steps in the U.S. and abroad to enforce Veeco's IP rights."
The court's order means that the preliminary injunction, which prohibits SGL from shipping wafer carriers using Veeco's patented technology, will remain in place during the appeal by SGL. The appeal process at the CAFC usually takes over a year to complete. In its appeal, SGL will bear the burden of convincing the CAFC that the preliminary injunction should be overturned. Appeals of preliminary injunctions are evaluated by the CAFC under the highly deferential "abuse of discretion" standard of review. As a result, Veeco believes that it is highly unlikely that the CAFC will overturn the preliminary injunction, especially in light of statistics showing that a substantial majority of preliminary injunctions are affirmed by the CAFC on appeal.
This action for patent infringement was commenced by Veeco against SGL Carbon, LLC and SGL Carbon SE on April 12, 2017 in the federal court for the Eastern District of New York. SGL manufactures wafer carriers which are used in susceptorless MOCVD systems. In addition to the preliminary injunction, Veeco is seeking a post-trial permanent injunction, monetary damages and other relief.
About Veeco
Veeco (NASDAQ: VECO) is a leading manufacturer of innovative semiconductor process equipment. Our proven MOCVD, lithography, laser annealing, ion beam and single wafer etch & clean technologies play an integral role in producing LEDs for solid-state lighting and displays, and in the fabrication of advanced semiconductor devices. With equipment designed to maximize performance, yield and cost of ownership, Veeco holds technology leadership positions in all these served markets. To learn more about Veeco's innovative equipment and services, visit www.veeco.com.
Forward-looking Statements
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, 2016 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.
Veeco Instruments Inc.Investors: Sam Maheshwari516-677-0200 [email protected]:Jeffrey Pina516-677-0200 [email protected]
Source: Veeco Instruments Inc.