Metris Responds to Hexagon Lawsuit

(Quality Digest: Louisville, KY) -- As first reported in the July 17th issue of Quality Digest Daily, Hexagon Metrology has filed patent infringement litigation against Metris N.V. and its U.S. subsidiary Metris U.S.A. Inc. The basis of that lawsuit, according to court documents obtained by Quality Digest and verified by Hexagon representatives, involved the rotational abilities of the Metris MCA series of coordinate measuring arms, which Hexagon contends is an infringement upon the company’s patent-protected “infinite rotation” technology.

“The Hexagon lawsuit is baseless and without merit,” says Robert A. Wasilesky, Metris senior vice president of sales and marketing, in a statement issued at the ongoing Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference. “We investigated and re-investigated patent 148 and found no infringement in the MCA technology. We respect others’ intellectual property as we would hope that others would respect ours.

The timing of this suit is suspect, says Wasilesky. “If our competitors are attempting to interfere in the acquisition of Metris by Nikon [first reported in the June 9th issue of Quality Digest Daily], that attempt will be unsuccessful. We will prevail based on our company’s ethical behavior as well as the strengths of our products and people."

Wasilesky added that all indications are that Metris’ acquisition by Nikon will be successful, with more information on the acquistion to be available soon.

Quality Digest examined the MCA articulated arm in question and it appears that the C axis does stop at one revolution. Other axes on the arm, however, do have rotation beyond 360°.

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