HUDSON, N.H., Sept. 18 -- Presstek, Inc., a leading provider of direct digital imaging technology, is pleased to announce that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed that Presstek's on-press imaging patents are valid. The United States Court of Appeals ruling, issued September 17, 2002, held that Creo's evidence was not sufficient to overcome the validity of Presstek's patents and upheld the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware's ruling that Presstek's '368 and '205 patents are valid. The '368 and '205 patents relate to image error correction, the apparatus for imaging and the method of imaging. Presstek's patents originally emerged successfully from re-examination by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in July of 1999. In August 1999, Creo filed a declaratory judgment action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware requesting that the court rule that Presstek's '368 and '205 patents were invalid. In September 2001, while holding that the Creo on-press imaging system did not infringe the Presstek patents, the District Court rejected Creo's argument that the patents were invalid and upheld the validity of Presstek's '368 and '205 patents. The United States Court of Appeals ruling upheld these findings. "We are pleased that the court has again upheld the validity of Presstek's on-press imaging patents," said Edward J. Marino, Presstek's President and CEO. "Presstek invented, and leads the market in, on-press laser imaging. The strength of our patent portfolio, together with the performance and reliability of our DI products has brought us into partnership with some of the world's leading press manufacturers." "Presstek's products are specifically designed to address the needs of the largest and fastest growing segment of the printing industry, short-run color," said Marino. "We believe that on-press imaging is the future of the printing industry, and that Presstek will continue to lead the market into the future." Presstek, Inc. is a leading developer of digital laser imaging and chemistry-free plate technologies for the printing and graphic arts industries. Marketed to world-leading press manufacturers and directly to end users, Presstek's patented DI, CTP and plate products eliminate photographic darkrooms, film and toxic processing chemicals, reduce the printing turnaround time and lower the production costs. The company's Lasertel subsidiary supplies it with the valuable resources necessary for its next generation laser imaging devices.