NEWS & BUSINESS
US International Trade Commission clears OFS of patent infringement allegations
Optical cable and systems developer OFS Fitel has announced that a May 8, 2018 Notice of Final Determination by the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) cleared OFS, a manufacturer of optical fibre products, of all allegations by DSM Desotech. DSM, a Dutch company, claimed that that OFS optical fibre and the coating used on that fibre violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. The Final Determination found that “all claims asserted by DSM at the ITC are invalid”. OFS, based in Norcross, Georgia, and its coating supplier Momentive UV Coatings were alleged to have infringed four DSM US patents pertaining to optical fibre coatings and optical fibre made with those coatings, which were imported and sold in the US. The Commission’s Final Determination, affirming in
applications in such areas as telecommunications, medicine, industrial automation, sensing, aerospace, defence and energy. OFS provides reliable, cost-effective fibre
property law that foreign companies come to this country to seek just treatment. “We appreciate the diligence and care taken by the ITC to hear and understand the arguments of both parties in delivering this ruling. The invalidation of the claims in the patents asserted by DSM is a to use unsupportable positions to threaten action.” OFS was represented by Barnes and Thornburg. cautionary note to those who attempt designer, manufacturer and provider of optical fibre, fibre optic cable, connectivity, fibre-to-the-subscriber (FTTx) and speciality fibre optic products. The company puts its development and manufacturing resources to work creating solutions for About OFS OFS is a world-leading
part and reversing in part a preliminary decision from an Administrative Law Judge, found all claims asserted by DSM were invalid and terminated the investigation. Dr. Timothy F. Murray, CEO and Chairman of OFS said, “OFS takes pride and care in use of our technology developed through decades of sustained research and development and innovation. ‘Respects IP’ He added, “OFS also respects the intellectual property rights of others but will vigorously defend ourselves when we believe we are targeted with baseless attacks. We were surprised to be charged with patent infringement based on the use of coatings manufacturer that supplies cable coating products to OFS and has been a supplier of fibre coatings in the past. “It is a measure of the strength of our US system of commercial and intellectual to make optical fibre by DSM, a foreign coatings
The dispute centred on the coatings used by OFS
optic solutions that help customers meet the needs of consumers and businesses today and into the future.
Huawei honoured with Vodafone’s ‘Supplier of the Decade’ award
Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, has been named ‘Supplier of the Decade’ by Vodafone. The Vodafone Supplier Awards recognize companies that have “performed outstandingly” in supporting Vodafone Group’s continuous drive for operating efficiency and to deliver greater benefits to its customers. The ‘Supplier of the Decade’ award signifies Huawei’s outstanding contributions as Vodafone’s long- standing strategic partner. It demonstrates Vodafone’s recognition of Huawei’s relentless effort and commitment in providing the highest-
Eric Yang, President of the Vodafone Account at Huawei, said, “We are very pleased to receive the ‘Supplier of the Decade’ award from Vodafone. This award recognizes Huawei’s customer- centric dedication to provide the best solutions and services to support Vodafone’s business growth over the past 10 years. Huawei takes pride in this commitment which has forged our unique partnership with Vodafone. I believe this partnership will continue to thrive and achieve even greater success in the next decade. In the upcoming 5G era, we look forward to working closely with Vodafone to build an even faster and better network for consumers as well as for vertical industries.”
quality solutions and services to support Vodafone’s business growth. The award was presented to Huawei by Ninian Wilson, global supply chain director & CEO of Vodafone Procurement Company, together with VPC’s management team at the Vodafone’s recent Annual Supplier Awards ceremony and 10 years’ anniversary of VPC. Ninian Wilson said, “Huawei took the initiative to set up operations in Luxembourg to support VPC right from the very beginning. Over the past decade, our strategic partnership has grown and flourished thanks to Huawei’s commitment to growing hand in hand with VPC and building trust as a reliable partner gradually over time.”
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| ISSUE 13 | Q2 2018
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