HOUSTON, July 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical
Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced that on July 2, 2015, a panel of justices on the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. reversed in part and affirmed
in part the patent infringement judgment against ION in favor of
WesternGeco granted by the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Texas in
May 2014.
As previously disclosed by the Company, WesternGeco filed the
lawsuit, styled WesternGeco L.L.C. v. ION Geophysical
Corporation, in June 2009,
alleging that ION's DigiFIN™ lateral streamer control system
infringed numerous method and apparatus claims contained in patents
held by WesternGeco U.S. for marine seismic streamer steering
devices. In May 2014, the
United States District Court entered final judgment in favor of
WesternGeco and ordered ION to pay $123.8
million in damages, prejudgment interest and costs to
WesternGeco, plus post-judgment interest. ION appealed the
judgment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in
Washington, D.C.
On July 2, 2015, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. reversed in part the
judgment, holding the district court erred by including lost
profits in the final judgment. Lost profits were $93.4 million and prejudgment interest was
approximately $10.9 million of the
$123.8 million final
judgment. Pre-judgment interest on the lost profits portion of
the final judgment will be treated in the same way as the lost
profits. Post-judgment interest will likewise be treated in the
same fashion. The opinion is not a final judgment of the Court
of Appeals until the mandate issues and could be subject to further
proceedings.
Brian Hanson, ION President and
Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased with the
decision of the Court of Appeals to reverse the decision of the
trial court on lost profits, and ION will continue to vigorously
defend its rights. We are confident that when the mandate of
the Federal Circuit issues, ION will have a substantial reduction
of the May 2014 judgment, leaving an
estimated judgment of only $20-24
million.
"We consider the elimination of the lost profits damages to be a
total victory for our Company. This case has been an overhang
on our business for far too long, and we are glad to have the focus
returned to our core business and its continued success as we move
forward.
"The real winners of today's verdict are our shareholders, who
have long suffered from the erosion of value caused by this
case. We are excited to get back to our business and to
continue to build on this success. While this has been a long and
arduous process, we feel it is close to a successful end."
About ION
ION Geophysical Corporation is a leading provider of geophysical
technology, services, and solutions for the global oil & gas
industry. ION's offerings are designed to allow E&P operators
to obtain higher resolution images of the subsurface to reduce the
risk of exploration and reservoir development, and to enable
seismic contractors to acquire geophysical data safely and
efficiently. Additional information about ION is available at
www.iongeo.com.
Contacts
Jamey
Seely
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
+1.281.552.3011
The information included herein contains certain
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements include
statements concerning future activities and the ultimate outcome of
litigation, which is inherently unpredictable. Actual results
may vary materially from those described in these forward-looking
statements. All forward-looking statements reflect numerous
assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties.
Risk factors, which could affect actual results, are disclosed by
the Company from time to time in its filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including its Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2014 and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed during
2015.
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SOURCE ION Geophysical Corporation