RSA Prevails In Arbitration Against Cylink

baldwin (Robert W. Baldwin) baldwin at RSA.COM
Wed Sep 20 08:56:44 PDT 1995


        Here's an article on the RSA-Cylink arbitration from
the business wire.
                --Bob Baldwin
-   -----------------------------

RSA Prevails In Arbitration Against Cylink
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 1995--An Arbitration Panel 
recently ruled that Cylink does not have a license to RSA patented technology, 
that RSA's software licensing practices do not breach any agreement with Cylink 
or its wholly owned subsidiary Caro-Kann and that RSA now has the exclusive 
right to license the RSA patent.

In a Sept. 6, 1995 ruling, an Arbitration Panel, formed by agreement of the 
parties, and after nearly a month of testimony, ruled in favor of RSA on every 
significant issue. The Panel held that neither Cylink nor Caro-Kann had a 
license to practice RSA patented technology. Cylink admittedly incorporates this
technology in its Secure X.25 product line, without any license to do so.

The Panel also found that RSA's software licensing practices did not materially 
breach any of Cylink's rights. The Panel did not rule that anyone, (specifically
including RSA and its software customers) infringed any existing patent rights 
of anyone - including Cylink.

As a result of the Panel's ruling, RSA now has the exclusive right to license 
the patented RSA technology. According to Jim Bidzos, the President of RSA, `RSA
will continue to conduct its software business in exactly the same way that it 
has for the past ten years.

`In addition, RSA anticipates that licenses to the RSA Patent will now be much 
more readily available, because they now can now be granted without Cylink 
interference. RSA has all of the intellectual property rights which it needs to 
license its software. RSA will vigorously defend against any claim to the 
contrary.`

A recent Cylink press release on the Ruling of the Arbitration Panel is wildly 
inaccurate. The same Robert Fougner (Cylink's General Counsel) who is cited in 
the Cylink press release has repeatedly made express representations to third 
parties that the Stanford Patents do not cover, and are not infringed by, the 
manufacture, use or sale of products incorporating RSA's TIPEM software 
developer's toolkit.

As noted by Mr. Bidzos: `Cylink lost every single significant issue in the 
Arbitration. Their press release was simply an attempt to cover up what has been
a crushing defeat.`

Questions regarding the Arbitration Panel Ruling or RSA licenses should be 
directed to Kurt Stammberger, RSA Technology Marketing Manager, or Paul Livesay,
RSA Director of Legal Affairs.

CONTACT: RSA

Kurt Stammberger, 415/595-8782

kurt at rsa.com







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