July 31, 2007 - VistaPrint Limited, the leading online supplier of high-quality graphic design services and customized printed products to small businesses and consumers, announced that the District Court in Düsseldorf, Germany issued a ruling today in a patent infringement action filed by VistaPrint against two related German companies, print24 GmbH and unitedprint.com AG. The court found that the defendants have infringed VistaPrint's European Patent 0 852 359, related to computer-implemented methods and apparatus for generating prepress graphic files.
The ruling by the court orders the defendants to cease using the patented methods, to cease producing and using the patented apparatus, to cease importing and using prepress graphic files in Germany that were created with infringing methods and apparatus, and to pay damages to VistaPrint for past infringement.
The court's orders are currently scheduled to go into effect after a thirty-day appeal period. VistaPrint intends to request the court to enforce its orders against the defendants immediately.
Robert Keane, President and CEO of VistaPrint, stated, "VistaPrint is pleased that the court has ruled clearly that these competitors have been infringing our intellectual property rights. VistaPrint has had great success in creating a disruptive business model, so it is understandable that competitors will emerge who will try to follow our lead. While we fully expect and support fair competition, we will not allow competitors to copy and use our patented methods and systems. VistaPrint will defend its hard earned IP as a matter of strategic importance. We do not plan to license our patented technology to competitors; we will seek court injunctions to stop the infringement. To this end, we are planning for a broad, robust and protracted series of patent litigation world wide."