AK Steel Wins Patent Suit for Special Automotive Steels

WEST CHESTER, Ohio, Jan. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- AK Steel Corporation (NYSE: AKS) said today that it has prevailed in a patent infringement lawsuit brought against the company by two French units of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel producer.  The suit, heard in U.S. District Court in Delaware, alleged that AK Steel and two other steel producers have infringed upon a U.S. patent for aluminum-coated, boron-bearing carbon steels, used primarily for high-strength automotive applications.  

A jury, however, found the ArcelorMittal patent invalid and that no infringement had occurred, in a decision handed down January 14, 2011.  AK Steel said the decision will allow the company to begin offering the product for sale immediately to customers in the United States.  AK Steel said that, while it has had the capability to produce the product for several years, potential customers had been concerned about the pending legal action brought by ArcelorMittal.  AK Steel said the jury's finding eliminates its customers' concerns.  

AK Steel

AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steels, primarily for automotive, appliance, construction and electrical power generation and distribution markets. The company employs about 6,200 men and women in Middletown, Mansfield, Coshocton and Zanesville, Ohio; Butler, Pennsylvania; Ashland, Kentucky; Rockport, Indiana; and its corporate headquarters in West Chester, Ohio. Additional information about AK Steel is available on the company's web site at www.aksteel.com. AK Tube LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of AK Steel, employs about 300 men and women in plants in Walbridge, Ohio and Columbus, Indiana. AK Tube produces carbon and stainless electric resistance welded (ERW) tubular steel products for truck, automotive and other markets. Additional information about AK Tube LLC is available on its web site at www.aktube.com.

SOURCE AK Steel

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