Optical Communication Products Settles Patent Suit

CHATSWORTH, Calif., April 22 -- Optical Communication Products Inc. (OCP), a manufacturer of fiber optic subsystems and modules for metropolitan area networks and high-speed premises networks, announced it has resolved its pending patent infringement lawsuit with Stratos Lightwave Inc.

The lawsuit, originally filed by Methode Electronics Inc. in October 1999 against OCP and Infineon Technologies Corp., alleged that OCP's 1-by-9 pin configuration products and its gigabit interface converter (GBIC) products infringe one or more of Methode's patents. Stratos Lightwave, a Methode spinoff and assignee of the patents-in-suit, was added as an additional plaintiff to the lawsuit in June 2000. The settlement resolves all claims in the lawsuit among OCP, Stratos Lightwave and Methode Electronics.

As part of the settlement, OCP has entered into a license agreement with Stratos Lightwave covering Stratos Lightwave's portfolio of optoelectronic transceiver patents. OCP's optoelectronic products covered by this license include its 1-by-9, GBIC, small form-factor and small form-factor pluggable product families.