Martin and Robe have entered into a licensing agreement, entitling Robe and its affiliated companies to utilize Martin's United States patents 6,601,973 (the "973-patent"), 6,971,770 (the "770-patent") and 7,222,997 on gobo holder and animation wheel technology, covering Robe's Color Spot product series. The licensing agreement also entitles Martin and its affiliated companies to utilize technology covered by Robe's United States patent application 10/534927.
The agreement thus entitles Robe to manufacture, market and sell its Color Spot product series in the United States and entitles Martin to manufacture, market and sell products, incorporating the technology in Robe's patent application.
The licensing agreement follows litigation in the United States in which Martin claimed that Robe's Color Spot series infringed the 973-patent and the 770-patent, and thus further includes a settlement agreement, resolving the dispute at issue in this litigation.
Christian Engsted, CEO and president of Martin Professional said, "At Martin we take our intellectual property rights very seriously. When companies spend millions of Euros on R&D to be on the technological forefront it is important that all the players in the industry show mutual respect for each other's intellectual property. This agreement confirms that Robe and Martin act accordingly and it marks the parties' desire to potentially enter into an era of strengthened co-operation in the future. We are very pleased to have resolved this matter quickly and favorably."
Robe CEO, Josef Valchar, added, "Intellectual property rights and respecting those of others are of great importance to Robe Show Lighting. We have invested huge amounts of money and considerable resources in R&D and registering our IP portfolio, and are pleased to announce the positive results of collaborating with Martin to resolve these issues. The agreement also opens the door for potential future co-operation between the two companies".
