Corning Cleared of Optical Fibre Patent Infringement

Corning Incorporated confirmed that a Japanese court on Oct. 29, 2004 dismissed the suit filed by Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (“Furukawa”) against Corning Cable Systems International Corp., a subsidiary of Corning Incorporated. In this suit, Furukawa had claimed that optical fiber cables sold by Corning Cable Systems infringed a Japanese patent held by Furukawa which covers a specific design of optical fiber ribbon cable. This Japanese patent expired earlier this year.

In its Oct. 29 decision, the Japanese court found that Corning Cable System’s products did not infringe Furukawa’s patent and dismissed Furukawa’s claim on that basis. “Corning Cable Systems is pleased that the court properly decided this issue,” said Larry Aiello, Jr., president and chief executive officer, Corning Cable Systems. “The court’s decision confirms what we have always believed: that our products never used the design claimed in Furukawa’s now expired patent.”

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