Greenwich, CT -- Presstek, Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of digital offset printing solutions, today announced that it has achieved a favorable judgment in an important patent infringement case against VIM Technologies, Ltd.  Under the court order entered by the Regional Court of Dusseldorf, Germany on April 20, 2009, VIM Technologies, the German distributor Reinsch Handel and the owner of the distributor, Andreas Reinsch, have been ordered to cease all sales of VIM printing plates which were the subject of the patent infringement lawsuit brought by Presstek. The Court determined that VIM's printing plates Di-R-28, Di-R-36, Dp-R-28 and Dp-R-36 infringe upon Presstek's German part of the European Patent 0 580 393 B1 and did not agree with the invalidity arguments raised by VIM in a separate nullity suit pending at the Federal Patents Court in Munich.
 
In addition, VIM, Reinsch Handel and Andreas Reinsch have been ordered by the Court to furnish Presstek with all advertising and sales information related to VIM sales in Germany, including the identity of parties to whom sales have been made, prices, volumes, costs and profits earned on the sales, to enable Presstek to calculate damages.
 
The judgment shall become valid after having been served upon the defendants.  The judgment may be appealed, but Presstek may enforce it immediately upon the posting of a bond. The aforementioned nullity suit initiated by VIM against Presstek remains pending.
 
In commenting on the judgment, James R. Van Horn, Presstek's General Counsel, said, "This is an important victory in Presstek's ongoing efforts to protect its valuable and legally protected intellectual property.  While Presstek welcomes fair competition in the marketplace, we will not allow parties like VIM to gain unfair standing in the market by appropriating our technology.  This judgment should serve as a warning that the purchase and use of VIM products violate patent rights and come with the risk of significant liability."
 
In addition to this proceeding in Europe, in February 2008, Presstek filed a Complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC) against Israeli printing plate manufacturer VIM Technologies, Ltd. and its manufacturing partner Hanita Coatings RCA, Ltd. for infringement of Presstek's patent and trademark rights.  Presstek also sued four U.S. based distributors of VIM products: Spicers Paper, Inc., Guaranteed Service & Supplies, Inc., Ohio Graphco Inc., and Recognition Systems Inc., as well as one Canadian based distributor, AteCe Canada.  Presstek subsequently settled with Ohio Graphco Inc., which agreed to stop selling the VIM product and to cooperate in the ITC's investigation. Presstek is seeking from the ITC in a hearing that commenced on April 22, among other things, an Order from the ITC forbidding the importation and sale of the VIM printing plates in the United States; such an Order would be enforced at all U.S. borders by the U.S. Customs Service.  On March 30, 2009, as part of a settlement in a separate lawsuit brought by Presstek against a VIM distributor, Prograf Digital Service and its principal, Joseph Musgrave, the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire issued an injunction against Prograf and Musgrave, prohibiting them from the sale of VIM printing plates.