Magnetar Technologies Corp. announced today that Judge Gary Allen Feess of the United States District Court for the Central District of California granted Magnetar’s motion for summary judgment of non-infringement, invalidity, and unclean hands in a long-standing patent case (Docket No. CV 04-0511 GAF (JWJx)) between Magnetar and Intamin, Ltd. The case is a patent dispute relating to magnetic brakes used on roller coasters.
Judge Feess ruled that Intamin is prevented from recovering against Magnetar due to Intamin’s “unclean hands” in forging documents submitted to the Patent Office by Intamin president Sandor Kernacs. Those documents allegedly assigned rights in U.S. Patent No. 6,062,350, entitled “Braking System For An Amusement Device,” to Intamin. The Court also ruled that Magnetar does not infringe the patent and that one of Intamin’s patent claims is invalid.
“The Court’s rulings confirm Magnetar’s original contention that Intamin Ltd. does not have viable patent rights that cover Magnetar’s products, and that Intamin Ltd. has improperly asserted patent infringement claims to suppress Magnetar and other competitors in the amusement industry,” said Edward Pribonic, President of Magnetar Technologies. “In light of the disruption that the patent litigation has unfairly caused to Magnetar’s business, we plan to continue with our antitrust case against Intamin in order to be made whole.”
John B. Sganga of Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP, litigation counsel for Magnetar, added, “It is rewarding to see Magnetar prevail after years of contentious litigation. It is unusual for a patent case to involve forgery issues. We are glad that the true facts came to light and the Court stopped Intamin’s meritless claims.”
About Magnetar Technologies Magnetar Technologies Corp. was founded in 1997 to develop and promote advanced safety technology for amusement rides. Magnetar focuses on magnetic brake systems, and its Soft Stop® Magnetic Brakes define the state of the art in safety and reliability. Magnetic brakes are very effective and require no power or control system to operate. They also have no contact with any moving parts. Thus they are more reliable and durable than conventional friction brakes, and the cost of operating and maintaining them is practically zero.