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Patent victories for JCM, Bally
JCM Global and Bally Technologies have both been victorious in patent infringement cases at US federal courts, as we reported last issue.
In the JCM case, a federal district court judge upheld the verdict delivered by a Las Vegas jury in January that found MEI’s CashFlow SC series of bill acceptors had infringed patent protection on JCM’s removable stacker mechanism.
The judge awarded JCM a further $845,000 in interest on the $11.4m already awarded by the jury, and issued a permanent injunction that prevents MEI making or selling products using JCM’s patent-protected design.
MEI, however, can continue to sell Cashflow SC units, as it has since changed the design.
“This decision ensures that Cashflow SC will continue to perform at the same high level in which it was originally designed,” said Tom Shuren, MEI’s chief technical officer.
“The minor modification that was made…was a seamless transition in our manufacturing processes and has subsequently proven effective in the field,” said Shuren. He added: “Throughout this process MEI has maintained confidence that we do not infringe. We continue to evaluate all options, including an appeal.”
Separately, the US Court of Appeals affirmed a decision reached by a Nevada federal district court which held that certain Bally Wheel and iView products did not breach IGT patents. Bally’s anti-trust claims against IGT remain to be heard in court.
