HONG KONG, March 13 /PRNewswire/ --
On March 9, 2007, the U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington at Seattle issued its Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law ("Findings & Conclusions") in favor of Esquel in the case of Taltech Ltd. and TAL Apparel Ltd. v-. Esquel Apparel, Inc. and Esquel Enterprises, Ltd., which first began in April 2004, on the complaint that Esquel willfully infringed certain patents of Taltech Limited applicable to the manufacture of pucker-free seams for wrinkle-free shirts.
Key points of the Findings & Conclusions include:
1) Esquel did not infringe the asserted claims.
2) Taltech's patent that went for a full trial was found to be
unenforceable as the inventor committed "inequitable conduct" before
the US Patent Office during the patent application process.
3) There was clear and convincing evidence that the case was an
"exceptional case", based on "inequitable conduct", and Esquel had to
needlessly expend significant resources as a result of Taltech
Limited's and TAL Apparel Limited's litigation tactics. Due to these
and other findings, Taltech and TAL Apparel are to pay Esquel's
reasonable attorney fees.
To Esquel, this finding of no infringement shows that the Esquel Group upholds its guiding business principles, which include a strong emphasis on ethical behavior. The Esquel Group has strong technological capabilities to deliver solutions to its customers using its own innovations.
The Esquel Group is one of the world's largest manufacturers of cotton shirts. It makes around 60 million shirts a year and employs over 45,000 people around the world. It is a privately-owned company headquartered in Hong Kong.
Esquel Apparel, Inc. and Esquel Enterprises, Ltd. are wholly owned subsidiaries of the Esquel Group.
A copy of the Court's findings can be found at our web site http://www.esquel.com .
For more information on this matter, please contact:
Mr. K. L. Lee
Managing Director, Esquel Enterprises, Ltd.
Tel: +852-2811-8077
Mr. K. L. Lee, Managing Director, +852-2811-8077
