RECENT NEWS ABOUT PATENT LITIGATION

There has been recent news media attention in the United States regarding an ongoing lawsuit against Nikon.

On September 8, 2005, a company named Anvik filed a lawsuit against Nikon in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, White Plains Division alleging that Nikon’s high-performance, large format microlithography systems sold in Asia had infringed U.S. patents filed by Anvik’s president, Dr. Kanti Jain.

The Anvik lawsuit against Nikon is based on two false premises.

First, Anvik’s lawsuit is based on the false premise that the patents Anvik is asserting are valid patents. However, the kinds of lithography machines Anvik claimed to invent were old technology, and were actually invented by others years earlier. The Japan Patent Office ruled years ago that the lead Anvik patent was invalid. The United States Patent Office issued a preliminary finding this year also ruling that Anvik’s lead patent is invalid.

Second, Anvik’s lawsuit is based on the false premise that Nikon infringes Anvik’s patents, but Nikon is not using the technology described in Anvik’s patents. Nikon developed its own technology and systems for large format lithography. Nikon’s technology is different from, and far more advanced than, the systems and methods described in Anvik’s patents.

Nikon is confident that it will prevail in this dispute.

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For further information, contact: 
Bernie Wood, Director of Marketing
Nikon Precision Inc.,
(650) 413-8533 phone, bwood@nikon.com