Monster Cable Charges AudioQuest with Willful Patent Infringement in Federal Court

Business Wire, Jan 8, 2004

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2004

Monster Cable(R) Asserts Rights under its U.S. Patent No. 5,307,416 for Audio Interconnect & Speaker Cable "Bias Circuit System"

As part of a long standing commitment to protect and enforce its intellectual property rights, Monster Cable Products, Inc. filed a lawsuit on January 5th against The Quest Group, d/b/a AudioQuest, in Federal Court alleging that AudioQuest(R) is willfully and deliberately infringing Monster's Bias Circuit System (BCS) patent, through the manufacture, use, sale, and offer to sell certain audio and speaker cables incorporating Monster's patented BCS technology (U.S. Patent No. 5,307,416).

"Developing and protecting Monster's intellectual property has always been a core part of the company's business strategy and will continue to be so in the future," said Noel Lee, The Head Monster of Monster Cable. "It's a testament to the revolutionary nature of Monster's innovations and forward thinking, that a competitor would find it compelling to base a 2003 product line on a patent that Monster acquired in the mid 1990's."

The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction barring AudioQuest from future importation or sale of its Analog Interconnects, "Earth Feature" Series and "Circular Array" Series speaker cable product lines using BCS technology plus unspecified monetary damages.

"We must be aggressive in protecting our portfolio as it represents the technological edge our customers have come to depend on," said Monster's General Counsel, David Tognotti.

"Monster currently has over 200 granted U.S. and international patents, nearly 100 pending patents, and over 300 registered trademarks worldwide."

About Monster

The Monster Cable division of Monster is the world's leading manufacturer of high performance connectivity solutions for audio, video, car audio, computer, console & computer gaming, professional music and sound reinforcement (www.MonsterCable.com). The Monster Power division is the leading manufacturer of high performance AC power line conditioning and protection products for audio/video systems (www.MonsterPower.com). Monster also produces a wide variety of rechargeable and single-use PowerCells(TM) (www.MonsterPowcells.com) as well as performance photographic accessories (www.MonsterPhoto.com). M-Design is the newest addition to the Monster family of companies, making AV component center and sound system technologies you can live with (www.MDesignLife.com).

For more information Monster Cable Products, Inc., visit www.MonsterCable.com .

For more information The Quest Group, visit www.AudioQuest.com .