AUSTIN, TX /Marketwire/ -- Applied Nanotech Holdings Inc. announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its opinion in its litigation with Canon Inc. The appeals court in part affirmed, and in part reversed, the rulings of the district court. While the appeals court accepted, without deciding, the district court's decision that SED Inc. as originally formed did not qualify as a Canon subsidiary, and that Canon had materially breached the contract, it found that termination of the license agreement was not an appropriate remedy. The appeals court also ruled that the restructured SED Inc., which is 100% owned by Canon, now qualifies as a Canon subsidiary. The appeals court denied Applied Nanotech's appeal that the district court had improperly excluded certain evidence from the trial. The decision reinstates Canon's nonexclusive license to substantially all of Applied Nanotech's field-emission patents, excluding certain display applications.
"Our legal counsel is currently reviewing the possible next steps in the litigation, and while we are disappointed by the court's decision, it has no impact on our day to day operation of the business," said Tom Bijou, Chairman and CEO of Applied Nanotech Holdings Inc. "We have not factored any income from Canon into our business plans. We continue to make excellent progress in the other areas of our business, including conductive inks, sensors, and nanomaterials, as well as in other activities in the electron emission and display fields, such as backlights. Our revenue and backlog levels remain strong."
About Applied Nanotech
Applied Nanotech Holdings Inc is a premier research and commercialization organization dedicated to developing applications for nanotechnology, with an extremely strong position in the fields of electron-emission applications from carbon film/nanotubes, sensors, functionalized nanomaterials, and nanoelectronics. It also possesses investments related to electronic digitized sign technology. It has over 250 patents or patents pending, and its business model is to license its technology to partners that will manufacture and distribute products using the technology.