UCT Prohibited from Selling Predator Product Line
San Jose, CA, October 13, 2008 – Celerity, Inc., a technology leader in precision instruments and advanced gas and liquid delivery solutions for the global semiconductor and electronics industries, announced today that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed its trial verdict of patent infringement against Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: UCTT), and its subsidiary Ultra Clean Technology Systems and Service, Inc., Menlo Park, CA (“UCT”).
In June 2006, following a three-week jury trial, a unanimous jury validated Celerity’s U.S. Patent Nos. 6,435,215 and 6,394,138, and found that UCT’s Predator product line infringed Celerity’s patented modular gas delivery technology. Following this verdict, the trial court issued an Order permanently prohibiting UCT from any further manufacturing or sales of the Predator product line. UCT appealed these rulings, claiming that the jury and trial court had committed errors in finding UCT guilty of patent infringement, and asking the Court of Appeals to overturn the permanent injunction. However, the Court of Appeals confirmed that the trial judge and jury had correctly found UCT’s Predator products to infringe Celerity’s intellectual property.
“Celerity is pleased with the Appellate Court’s ruling, which confirmed that Celerity is entitled to a permanent injunction against UCT and reaffirms the infringement and validity of our patents,” stated David Somo, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Celerity. “The Court’s ruling validates Celerity’s strategy of continued R&D investment that is directed to develop differentiated technology which uniquely solves our customers’ challenges.”
About Celerity
Celerity is a technology leader in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of precision instruments and advanced gas and liquid delivery solutions that are integral to the equipment used in manufacturing semiconductors, flat panel displays, solar panels and related products. Celerity, headquartered in San Jose, California, has over 1000 employees worldwide, and is a privately held company with a majority ownership by Texas Pacific Group. For additional information, please visit www.celerity.net.