Federal Appellate Court Affirms Ruling in Favor of Federal Signal Corporation in Patent Infringement Suit

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Sep 06, 2013, 12:13 ET

OAK BROOK, Ill., Sept. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE: FSS), a leader in environmental and safety solutions, announced today that a federal court of appeals has affirmed a ruling that the Company's SmartMsg™ emergency alert notification system does not infringe a patent owned by Cooper Notification, Inc.

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In November 2009, Cooper filed suit against the Company and other parties in the federal district court for Delaware, claiming infringement of Cooper's patent no. 7,409,428. In October 2011, the United States Patent Office determined that certain claims of the patent were invalid. Thereafter, on May 25, 2012, the Delaware federal district court entered summary judgment in favor of the Company and its co-defendants, Twitter, Inc. and Everbridge, Inc., on the remaining claims of the patent, finding that the defendants' respective mass notification messaging systems did not infringe Cooper's patent.

Cooper appealed this ruling. On August 30, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its opinion affirming the judgment of the trial court, stating that the trial court had not erred in its construction of the patent and that its conclusion that the defendants' systems did not infringe the patent was correct.

Jennifer Sherman, the Company's Chief Administrative Officer, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, said, "We are very pleased with this result. We were confident that our SmartMsg™ system did not infringe Cooper's patent, and we are gratified that both the federal trial court and the federal circuit court of appeals have agreed."

Federal Signal Corporation was represented by Daniel W. McDonald and Thomas J. Leach of the law firm of Merchant & Gould, P.C., Minneapolis, Minnesota.

About Federal Signal
Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE: FSS) enhances the safety, security and well-being of communities and workplaces around the world. Founded in 1901, Federal Signal is a leading global designer and manufacturer of products and total solutions that serve municipal, governmental, industrial and institutional customers. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., with manufacturing facilities worldwide, the company operates three groups: Safety and Security Systems, Environmental Solutions and Fire Rescue. For more information on Federal Signal, visit: http://www.federalsignal.com.

SOURCE Federal Signal Corporation