CPTC Receives Notice of Intent to Issue Reexamination Certificate for US Patent

IRVINE, CA - Composite Technology Corporation (CPTC) announced in a press release that its subsidiary, CTC Cable Corporation ("CTC Cable"), has received from the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") an official Notice of Intent to Issue Ex Parte Reexamination Certificate ("Notice") for US Patent No. 7,368,162 ("'162 patent").

In the Notice, the USPTO confirmed the patentability of eight (8) original claims, and approved the other twenty eight (28) original claims with only minor amendments. The USPTO further allowed forty seven (47) new claims, bringing the total claim count in this patent to eighty three (83) claims. No claims were finally rejected.

CTC Cable's suit against Mercury for willful patent infringement had been stayed by the Court pending the outcome of the reexamination. In light of the foregoing, however, CTC Cable will request that the stay be lifted so that it may proceed against Mercury. The USPTO has now considered the patentability of CTC Cable's patent twice, taking into account Mercury's best attempt to argue invalidity. Consequently, CTC Cable believes that its suit against Mercury is now even stronger.

If the federal court finds that Mercury infringes any one of these reexamined claims, Mercury will be liable to CTC Cable for damages, and the Court may also enter an injunction against Mercury prohibiting any further infringement. If the federal court finds that Mercury has willfully infringed or that the suit is exceptional, Mercury could be liable for increased damages and attorneys' fees. Any third party that makes, uses, sells or offers for sale any Mercury product that is found to infringe, including third party manufacturers or customers of an installed Mercury transmission line, may also be liable for patent infringement and subject to damages and injunctive relief.

CTC Cable's patent infringement suit against Mercury Cable is also based on CTC Cable's US Patent No. 7,211,319. This patent is currently in the reexamination process of the USPTO, also based on a request for reexamination by Mercury. However, the issues in this proceeding are similar to the issues in the just concluded reexamination of the '162 patent, and CTC Cable is optimistic of a positive outcome in the very near future.

In connection with its ACCC conductor business, CTC Cable currently has nine issued US patents, three pending US continuation-in-part patent applications, one pending US patent application claiming priority to a PCT international application, and four other pending US patent applications. In addition, three of its PCT international applications have entered the national phase and are currently pending in over 70 strategic countries world-wide.

Of these pending patent applications, twenty-one applications have been granted. These patent applications cover subjects including composite materials as applied to electrical transmission conductors and related structural apparatus and accessories, manufacturing processing techniques, cross sectional composite core designs for electrical transmission cables and methods and designs for splicing composite core reinforced cables. CTC Cable Corporation plans to continue supplementing these patents and patent applications with the strategic filing of new applications and claim sets.

Composite Technology Corporation, based in Irvine, California, USA, develops, manufactures and sells innovative, high performance, energy efficient electrical transmission conductors through its subsidiary, CTC Cable Corporation.

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