Court awards Rudolph Technologies $1.29 million

FLANDERS, USA: Rudolph Technologies Inc. was awarded $1.29 million as a result of a favorable ruling to a motion for contempt of court which Rudolph obtained against Camtek Ltd as part of a patent infringement suit that it filed against Camtek in 2006.

The contempt ruling was based on Camtek’s violation of an injunction issued in 2009 by the US Federal District Court in Minneapolis which prohibited Camtek from contacting customers in the United States in order to offer for sale its Falcon and equivalent inspection tools. According to Federal District Court Judge Michael Davis, Camtek "knowingly and in bad faith violated the Court’s clear and unambiguous injunction.”

Further, Judge Davis stated that the damages were awarded “in light of the flagrant nature of [Camtek’s] behavior” and serve both “as a stern warning to a party which has shown a clear lack of respect not only for this Court’s instructions, but also for a jury’s verdict” and “to discourage Defendant from further unlawful behavior in the future."

The foregoing result, while arising out of the patent infringement case against Camtek, is an issue which is separate and distinct from the limited re-trial on liability which was ordered by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in 2011. The limited retrial is expected to occur in late 2012.