FEI has announced that it has reached a mutually acceptable agreement with Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (HHT) to settle an ongoing dispute regarding certain HHT patents relating to focused ion beam (FIB) systems.
In exchange for HHT's agreement to dismiss all currently pending claims and to grant future license rights to FEI for the FIB patents, FEI will make a one-time payment of $15 million to HHT. Both parties have issued a cross license on various elements of intellectual property, the specifics of which are confidential.
FEI has previously recorded charges of $5.4 million related to pending claims pursuant to this patent dispute. The remaining $9.6 million of the payment announced today will be recorded as prepaid royalties and amortized over a period estimated at approximately seven years.
Brad Thies, senior vice president and general counsel of FEI, said, "We are pleased to have come to agreement with Hitachi on these patent issues and bring to a close these various long-standing
disputes. The licensing of the patents from Hitachi allows FEI to continue to enrich and improve the capability of our products for our customers."
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