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Business Services Industry
Court of Appeals Denies Request for En Banc Hearing
Business Wire, June 17, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Affinity Technology Group, Inc. (OTCBB: AFFI) today announced that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the "Appeals Court") has denied its request for a rehearing or a rehearing en banc in the cases of its subsidiary, decisioning.com versus Federated Department Stores, TD Ameritrade and HSBC Finance Corporation. Affinity had requested that the Appeals Court reconsider its ruling of May 7, 2008 concerning the Appeals Court's construction of the claim term "remote interface" as that term is used in U.S Patent No. 6,105,007, the Company's patent covering the automated establishment of financial accounts. In its May ruling, the Appeals Court limited the term "remote interface" to those that are publicly accessible and specifically excluded consumer-owned personal computers from the definition.
Joe Boyle, Affinity's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are very disappointed with the Appeals Court's denial of our request, especially considering that it reached its opinion in a split decision and that the dissenting judge's opinion fully supported our position. As we previously announced on May 7, and May 21, the Appeals Court's construction of the term "remote interface" represents a major setback for Affinity and significantly and materially limits the scope of our patents. The only legal recourse we have left, assuming we could secure the necessary capital, is to request that our case be heard by the Supreme Court of the United States.. We are continuing to evaluate our alternatives and courses of action we may take; however, our capital resources are nearing exhaustion, and we expect that this latest decision by the Appeals Court will continue to impede our ability to generate new capital resources and may preclude our pursuit of meaningful alternatives."
About Affinity Technology Group, Inc.
Through its subsidiary, decisioning.com, Inc., Affinity Technology Group, Inc. owns a portfolio of patents that covers the automated processing and establishment of loans, financial accounts and credit accounts through a remote interface, as applicable. Affinity's patent portfolio includes U. S. Patent No. 5,870,721C1, No. 5,940,811C1, and No. 6,105,007C1.
Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Affinity cannot offer any assurances that the value of its patents and business will not be permanently and materially limited by the adverse ruling of the Appeals Court described above. Moreover, the Company's cash resources are nearing exhaustion, and it can provide no assurances that it will have or be able to secure the cash resources to pursue further legal remedies concerning the enforcement of its patents through continued litigation and/or through further appeals to the Supreme Court of the United States concerning the Appeals Court's construction of the term "remote interface." Further, the Company can provide no assurances that it would be successful in obtaining a favorable construction of the term "remote interface" even if it were able to secure a hearing by the Supreme Court. Investors are cautioned that the Company's business is subject to several substantial risks and uncertainties, including the results of ongoing litigation, including the Appeals Court ruling discussed above, which, combined with the Company's very limited capital resources may make it difficult or impossible to raise additional capital in amounts sufficient to permit it to continue operations or pursue further legal options for vindicating its patent claims; the risk that the Company may further lose all or part of the claims covered by its patents as a result of challenges to its patents; the risk that its patents may be subject to additional reexamination by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or challenge by third parties; and, unanticipated costs and expenses affecting the Company's cash position. Additionally, the Company does not have the cash resources to pay the judgment resulting from the Temple Ligon litigation or to repay outstanding amounts under its outstanding convertible notes that mature in August and September 2008. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital in a very short period of time or resolve or postpone the judgment in the Temple Ligon matter and its obligations under its convertible notes in a manner which will alleviate the payment of more than an insignificant amount of cash in the near term, it would be forced to consider alternatives for winding down its business, which may include offering its patents for sale or filing for bankruptcy protection. These and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements are discussed in greater detail in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 and other filings Affinity makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. The Company is not responsible for updating the information contained in this press release beyond the publication date, or for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet Services.
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