REG - Nanoco Group PLC - Litigation Update – Pre-Trial Conference

NanocoAnnouncement

19/08/2022 08:30

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RNS Number : 6004W  Nanoco Group PLC  19 August 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
                                19 August 2022

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF
THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (596/2014/EU) AS THE SAME HAS BEEN RETAINED IN UK
LAW AS AMENDED BY THE MARKET ABUSE (AMENDMENT) (EU EXIT) REGULATIONS (SI
2019/310) ("UK MAR").

 

Nanoco Group PLC

("Nanoco, the "Group", or the "Company")

 

Litigation Update - Pre-Trial Conference

 

Nanoco Group plc (LSE: NANO), a world leader in the development and
manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other specific nanomaterials
emanating from its technology platform, announces an update to its litigation
against Samsung for the willful infringement of the Group's IP.

 

The Pre-Trial Conference began yesterday and is still ongoing. It is a normal
part of the judicial process and is being overseen by His Honour, Judge Rodney
Gilstrap, of the Eastern District of Texas. The transcripts of the first day
of proceedings show that the Judge has ruled on a number of motions that had
been submitted by Nanoco and Samsung. The more significant rulings are shown
below:

 

 Motion                                                                          Result
 Motion by Samsung to exclude the testimony of Dr Cossairt - technology expert   The Judge rejected the Motion and Dr Cossairt will be free to testify at the
 on behalf of Nanoco                                                             Trial, scheduled to commence on 12 September 2022.
 Motion by Samsung to exclude the testimony of Mr Credelle - damages expert on   The Judge rejected the Motion and Mr Credelle will be free to testify at the
 behalf of Nanoco                                                                Trial.
 Motion by Samsung to exclude the testimony of Mr Weinstein - damages expert on  The Judge rejected the Motion and Mr Weinstein will be free to testify at the
 behalf of Nanoco                                                                Trial.
 Motion by Samsung to exclude the testimony of Dr Allenby - damages expert on    The Judge rejected the Motion and Dr Allenby will be free to testify at the
 behalf of Nanoco                                                                Trial.
 Motion by Samsung for summary judgement of non-infringement of the quantum dot  The Judge dismissed the motion and hence the matter will proceed to trial.
 patents

 

A number of other motions were ruled upon during the pre-trial conference with
no material surprises or disappointments for Nanoco. The Judge agreed to issue
a summary judgment order of non-infringement with respect to red quantum dots.
Nanoco did not oppose this motion, as its trial strategy is focused on green
dots to limit the number of arguments to be presented to the jury in the time
constrained one week trial. This has no impact on the number of allegedly
infringing units as all displays (TVs and monitors) contain green and red
quantum dots, with the former outnumbering the latter in a ratio of around
four to one.

 

The rulings above are in addition to the previous public ruling by the Judge
that rejected Samsung's request to change the definition of a molecular
cluster compound previously ruled on in the Markman Hearing. We expect the
formal Orders of the court with respect to these motions to be handed down
shortly but do not expect any material change in the decisions shown in the
transcripts.

 

Brian Tenner, Chief Executive Officer of Nanoco Group plc, said:

"So we are going to trial. We are in a strong position: the net result of
rulings on the pre-trial conference motions preserve all of Nanoco's damages
models and their expert testimony, as well as the full testimony of our
technical expert Dr Brandi Cossairt. The earlier rejection of Samsung's motion
to re-open a Markman definition was also an important finding in Nanoco's
favour. Being able to selectively choose the claims to bring to trial on the
back of the emphatic win at PTAB has also undoubtedly added to this strength.

 

"We must not be complacent as the trial still awaits and its outcome is
uncertain. However, the recent events noted above have added to the strength
of our belief and confidence in our case. We continue to focus and work
industriously towards a favourable outcome to the trial and a substantial
inflection point for Nanoco's prospects and shareholder value."

 

- Ends -

 

For further information, please contact:

Nanoco Group PLC:

Brian Tenner,
CEO
 
 
+44 (0) 161 603 7900

Liam Gray, CFO
 
+44 (0) 161 603 7900

 

Turner Pope Investments (Joint Corporate Broker):

Andrew
Thacker
+44 (0) 20 3657 0050

James Pope

 

Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Corporate Broker):

Edward
Knight
+44 (0) 20 7418 8900

James Smith

 

MHP
Communications:
+44 (0) 203 128 8570

Reg Hoare

Pete Lambie

nanoco@mhpc.com

 

The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on
behalf of Nanoco is Liam Gray, Company Secretary.

MAR

This Announcement contains inside information for the purposes of article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of
the European Union (withdrawal) Act 2018.  Upon the publication of this
announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information
will be considered to be in the public domain.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This announcement (including information incorporated by reference in this
announcement) and other information published by Nanoco may contain statements
about Nanoco that are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements.
Such statements are prospective in nature.  All statements other than
historical statements of facts may be forward looking statements.  Without
limitation, statements containing the words "targets", "plans", "believes",
"expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "may", "anticipates", "estimates",
"projects" or "considers" or other similar words may be forward looking
statements.

Forward looking statements inherently contain risks and uncertainties as they
relate to events or circumstances in the future.  Important factors such as
business or economic cycles, the terms and conditions of Nanoco's financing
arrangements, tax rates, or increased competition may cause Nanoco's actual
financial results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any
forward looking statements.  Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward looking statements,
which speak only as of the date hereof.  Nanoco disclaims any obligation to
update any forward looking or other statements contained herein, except as
required by applicable law.

Notes for editors:

About Nanoco Group plc

Nanoco (LSE: NANO) harnesses the power of nano-materials. Nano-materials are
materials with dimensions typically in the range 1 - 100 nm. Nano-materials
have a range of useful properties, including optical and electronic. Quantum
dots are a subclass of nano-material that have size-dependent optical and
electronic properties. The Group produces quantum dots and other
nano-materials. Within the sphere of quantum dots, the Group exploits
different characteristics of the quantum dots to target different performance
criteria that are attractive to specific markets or end-user applications such
as the Display, Sensor and Electronics markets. An interesting property of
quantum dots is their absorption spectrum. Nanoco's HEATWAVE™ quantum dots
can be tuned to absorb light at different wavelengths across the near-infrared
spectrum, rendering them useful for applications including image sensors.
Another interesting property of quantum dots is photoluminescence: the
emission of longer wavelength light upon excitation by light of a shorter
wavelength. The colour of light emitted depends on the particle size. Nanoco's
CFQD® quantum dots are free of cadmium and other toxic heavy metals, and can
be tuned to emit light at different wavelengths across the visible and
infrared spectrum, rendering them useful for a wide range of applications
including displays, lighting and biological imaging.

Nanoco was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Manchester, UK, with a US
subsidiary, Nanoco Inc., in Concord, MA. Nanoco continues to build out a
world-class, patent-protected IP portfolio generated both by its own
innovation engine, as well as through acquisition.

Nanoco is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and trades
under the ticker symbol NANO. For further information please visit:
www.nanocotechnologies.com.

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