Munck Carter Obtains Complete Defense Verdict In Eastern District Of Texas Patent Infringement Case

DALLAS, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Munck Carter, LLP, a Texas-based patent litigation firm, today announces a complete defense verdict in a patent infringement case in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Fiber Systems International Inc. v. Applied Optical Systems, Inc., (2:06-cv-00473).

The verdict handed down late last week by the 10-person jury follows U.S. District Judge T. John Ward's earlier finding that two of the three fiber-optic connector designs of Plano-based Applied Optical Systems Inc. (AOS) (a subsidiary of Optical Cable Corporation (Nasdaq: OCCF)) do not infringe U.S. Patent No. 6,305,849 owned by Amphenol Fiber Systems International (a subsidiary of Amphenol Corporation (NYSE: APH)) as a matter of law. The jury's unanimous verdict found that the third design also did not infringe the '849 patent.

"We are pleased that the court and the jury carefully reviewed this case and agreed that Applied Optical Systems did nothing wrong," says E. Leon Carter, name partner of Munck Carter, LLP, and lead counsel for AOS.  "We could not be happier for our client, or prouder of our trial team." AOS also was represented at trial by Munck Carter partners J. Robert Arnett II and Robert D. McCutcheon.

As a result of this verdict, AOS can continue to freely manufacture and distribute its current line of military specification (83526/16) compliant TFOCA-II® style fiber optic connectors ( e.g., TFOCA/16 CCAA10B31) and its EZ-MATE™ connector.

Amphenol, represented by Greenberg Traurig, first sued AOS in November 2006 over the '849 patent, seeking monetary and injunctive relief. As part of AOS' defense, Munck Carter sought reexamination of the '849 patent in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. During reexamination, Amphenol was forced to narrow its claims and pursue damages only for products sold after March 31, 2009, the day the USPTO issued its re-examination certificate.

"We always believed that this case was about an industry leader using its patent portfolio to restrain its competitors," says William Munck, managing partner of Munck Carter. "Our initial defense strategy was to narrow the patent's scope through the reexamination and then show how AOS' connectors did not infringe the narrower patent. The correct verdict was reached."