Creo Claims Victory in Lawsuit

VANCOUVER, BC—Creo Inc. is claiming victory in the wake of a district court ruling that six Agfa patents for computer-to-plate (CTP) technology were unenforceable due to acts of inequitable conduct.

According to a statement from Creo, the ruling by the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts determined that Agfa failed to disclose known material information to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

"We are extremely pleased with this ruling as it supports what Creo has maintained all along," notes Creo CEO Amos Michelson. "Agfa's patents would never had been issued had Agfa told the patent office the complete facts on the development of automated CTP technology."

Agfa received patents on multi-cassette plate loaders for its CTP devices. It filed suit in 2000, charging that the design of the Creo CTP autoloaders infringed on Agfa's patents.

According to Creo, the court ruled that Agfa's patent agents and engineers withheld material information and misrepresented the state of the prior art for multiple-cassette CTP systems.