MathWorks says court preserves ‘status quo’ in NI infringement lawsuit

Natick, MA—The MathWorks reported that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has stayed a requested injunction pending an appeal of the court's June 24 decision to uphold a jury verdict of patent infringement by the company’s Simulink software.

By Control Engineering Staff July 9, 2003

Natick, MA— The MathWorks recently reported that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas stayed a requested injunction pending an appeal of the court’s June 24 decision to uphold a jury verdict of patent infringement by the company’s Simulink software. The initial patent lawsuit was brought by National Instruments (NI, Austin ,TX).

The court let stand the jury’s January 2003 verdict regarding some of the claims in three patents asserted by NI. The court also upheld a prior jury verdict of non-infringement of a fourth patent asserted by NI.

Meanwhile, the court stayed an injunction pending an appeal of its June 24 decision. The court stated that, “The defendant [The MathWorks] has made out a substantial case on the merits and [this and other factors] counsel in favor of a stay.” The appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is expected to take approximately 18 months.

“First, we are pleased that the court recognized the merits of The MathWorks’ case and decided to preserve the status quo pending our appeal,” says Richard Rovner, MathWorks’ marketing VP. “Second, we believe that we have strong grounds for a successful appeal. The MathWorks does not believe it infringes the three patents, and it also believes that the patents are invalid. And third, we want our customers to know that users of Simulink are not affected by this ruling and that The MathWorks remains fully committed to the Simulink product family.”

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news editorjmontague@reedbusiness.com