Corning Optical Communications and Panduit Corp. are entering into an agreement that will resolve pending patent-infringement and related proceedings between the companies, Panduit announced on October 10. The agreement’s terms are confidential. The patents in dispute relate to data center products.
As we reported previously, in February 2020 Corning filed an action with the United States International Trade Commission asserting four patents against Panduit and several other companies competing in the U.S. market for fiber-optic enclosures and cassettes. In March 2021, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) issued an initial determination holding that certain Panduit products should be excluded from import into the U.S.
Panduit’s vice president, legal and general counsel Chris Clancy responded at the time, “Though Panduit respects the ALJ’s decision, Panduit disagrees with the ALJ’s conclusion that the asserted patents are valid and that certain Panduit HD Flex products should be excluded from importation into the U.S.”
Clancy added that the company would pursue a review of the legal decision, and remained optimistic that its right to continue importing HD Flex products into the U.S., and that selling the products after importation, would be confirmed.
The pending agreement will resolve the dispute.