NEC Corporation Reaches Settlement with Harris Corporation in DMR Patent Infringement Lawsuits Initiated in Sept. 2004

(I-Newswire) August 5, 2005 - NEC Corporation today announced that it has reached a settlement with Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) in the patent infringement lawsuits filed against it on September 3, 2004 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and the Federal Court of Canada, which claimed infringement of NEC's Digital Microwave Radio ("DMR") patents by NEC Corporation.

As a result of the settlement, Harris has agreed to take a royalty-bearing, non-exclusive license under NEC's Digital Microwave Radio ("DMR") patents. In addition, NEC agreed to dismiss all claims covered by the lawsuits filed on September 3, 2004 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and the Federal Court of Canada.

"NEC is pleased to have resolved these litigations with terms and conditions that recognize the value of NEC's DMR patents," said Botaro Hirosaki, senior vice president and executive general manager of NEC's Intellectual Asset Operations Unit. "We value our intellectual property as an extremely important company asset and will continue to take a firm position in enforcing its rights if our patents are infringed by other companies in the field."

Under the terms of the settlement, Harris also agreed to dismiss all claims covered by the lawsuit filed on December 6, 2004 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Furthermore, Harris agreed to grant NEC a royalty-bearing, non-exclusive license under Harris' patents for Private Branch Exchanges ("PBX") and Key Telephone Systems as part of its dismissal of all claims covered by the lawsuit filed on December 6, 2004 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

In conjunction with the settlement, Harris agreed to purchase from NEC, and NEC agreed to sell to Harris, certain PBX patents possessed by NEC. Also, the parties agreed to a patent cross license as to all other product categories. No other terms of the settlement were disclosed.

About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.l) is one of the world's leading providers of Internet, broadband network and enterprise business solutions dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its diverse and global base of customers. Ranked as one of the world's top patent-producing companies, NEC delivers tailored solutions in the key fields of computer, networking and electron devices, by integrating its technical strengths in IT and Networks, and by providing advanced semiconductor solutions through NEC Electronics Corporation. The NEC Group employs more than 140,000 people worldwide and had net sales of 4,855 billion yen (approx. $45.4 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 2005.
For additional information, please visit the NEC home page at: http://www.nec.com
* Newsroom: http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/index.html

***
NEC Press Contacts:
In Japan Diane Foley
NEC Corporation
d-foley@ax.jp.nec.com
+81-3-3798-6511

Company Contact Information