POMONA, Calif., March 22, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:KEYS) today announced that the International Trade Commission gave notice of its decision not to review the final initial determination made by the administrative law judge concerning a previously disclosed complaint initiated by Ford Global Technologies against the company, another distributor and certain manufacturers.
"While we are encouraged that the Commission upheld the administrative law judge's ruling that three of Ford's patents are invalid, the decision not to review the initial determination of the seven other design patents by the administrative law judge is disappointing. Keystone remains committed to defending its position and intends to appeal to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals," said Rick Keister, chief executive officer of Keystone.
He emphasized that the issue of applying design patent laws to replacement parts reaches well beyond Keystone and the alternative parts industry. "We will continue to vigorously defend our position on behalf of our shareholders, the industry and consumers who benefit from the utilization of quality replacement parts and a competitive marketplace," Keister said. As previously disclosed, the parts at issue with these seven design patents currently represent less than 0.1 percent of sales.
The Commission had invited all interested parties to submit information and evidence on whether issuing a remedy in this case would adversely affect competitive conditions in the U.S. economy and U.S. consumers. Keystone continues to strongly believe that preventing Keystone and others from importing and selling alternative parts for vehicles will result in higher repair costs and escalating insurance rates, and will have a detrimental effect on consumers.
The collision repair parts market is a $16 billion industry that is estimated to be 72 percent controlled by automobile manufacturers. The utilization of aftermarket collision repair parts by the collision repair industry represents an important alternative for consumers -- providing an estimated 20 to 40 percent savings over those parts supplied by the automobile manufacturers.
About Keystone
Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. distributes its products primarily to collision repair shops through its 136 distribution facilities, of which 22 serve as regional hubs, located in 38 states and Canada. Its product lines consist of automotive body parts, bumpers, and remanufactured alloy wheels, as well as paint and other materials used in repairing a damaged vehicle. Its products are sold to more than 25,000 repair shops throughout the United States and Canada.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on the company's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the company will be those anticipated by the company. Actual results may differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the company) and are subject to change based upon various factors, including but not limited to litigation related to the Ford/ITC design patent proceeding; and other potential aggressive actions being taken by certain car manufacturers to negatively impact the aftermarket collision replacement parts industry, including patenting vehicle parts sold by the aftermarket, instituting litigation relating to alleged trademark violations and lobbying state legislature to adopt legislation favoring the OEM's; the impact on the company as a result of actions which have been, or in the future may be, taken by insurance companies with respect to the use of aftermarket products in the repair of vehicles; the effect of policies adopted by CAPA; and the costs of litigation. Reference is also specifically made to the "Risk Factors" section set forth in the company's Form 10-K Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006 and in Part II, Item 1A of its Form 10-Qs filed with the SEC thereafter, including its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 29, 2006, for additional information on the risks and uncertainties facing the company. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new information, future events or otherwise.