Hp & Encad Sign Settlement & Patent Licensing Agreement - Company Business and Marketing

EDP Weekly's IT Monitor, May 29, 2000

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HWP) and ENCAD Inc. (Nasdaq: ENCD) announced that they have settled all pending litigation between the two companies, which was related to large format inkjet printing.

Under the mutually agreed upon settlement, all outstanding litigation related to patent infringement and below cost pricing litigation was terminated.

The Agreement resolve patent infringement issues for current products and also gives both companies the option to take a license under a limited number of the other company's patents for future products, if required. Under the terms of the settlement, neither party will disclose additional details.

HP and ENCAD agreed to an amicable settlement, which allows both companies to move beyond costly and time-consuming litigation and to focus on designing superior products for their customers. With today's settlement, the companies can focus fully on meeting the needs of their customers and competing with each other in the marketplace, rather than in the courts.