Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMC) has recently reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. personal watercraft maker Arctic Cat regarding patent violations.
The suit, filed against Arctic Cat by YMC at a Federal District Court in California in December of 1999, alleged violation of YMC personal watercraft patents by Arctic Cat in the manufacture of its "Tiger Shark" model personal watercraft.
The patents allegedly violated included 15 YMC patents concerning the hull shape and seat shape and power unit components such as the structure of the intake and exhaust systems, as well as the structure of the propulsion jet. Also alleged were violations of six patents held by YMC's Marine Jet power unit manufacturer, Sanshin Industries Co., Ltd., bring the total to 21 patent violations.
Under the recently reached settlement agreement, Arctic Cat effectively admits to the validity of the above-mentioned 21 patent and the fact that the violations did occur, and in lieu of compensation for the violations occurring before July 1, 2000, agrees to pay YMC US$750,000 in damages.
Furthermore, regarding all units of this model manufactured after July 1 until the expiration of this agreement on May 15, 2018, Arctic Cat has agreed to pay YMC royalties to the amount of US$400 per unit.
Since it began manufacturing and marketing personal watercraft in 1986, YMC has developed many unique technologies in the pursuit of greater comfort, reliability and stability in our personal watercraft. In the future we will continue to approach their development from a variety of perspectives in order to build products of true value that bring even greater satisfaction to our customers. |
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