Additionally, the Victory on the ‘950 Patent Opens the Way for Restarting the WatchGuard Litigation
Lenexa, KS, Dec. 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Digital Ally, Inc. (NASDAQ: DGLY) today announced that the United States District Court for the District of Kansas has set a schedule for the Company’s litigation against Axon Enterprise, Inc. (“Axon,” formerly known as TASER International, Inc.). The Court set March 7, 2018, as the date at which the Court will conduct the claim construction (e.g., Markman) hearing. Once a claim construction order issues, the parties will proceed to mediation and then finalize remaining deadlines as the case proceeds towards trial.
Additionally, the Court in the Company’s litigation against Enforcement Video, LLC (d/b/a WatchGuard Video), has requested an update by January 5, 2018, on the status of the inter partes review (“IPR”) for U.S. Patent No. 9,325,950 (the “950 Patent”) by the U.S. Patent Office. The ‘950 Patent is asserted against WatchGuard and the lawsuit also involves U.S. Patent Nos. 8,781,292 (the “292 Patent”) and 9,253,452 (the “452 Patent”), the same two patents asserted against Axon. The Patent Office recently rejected WatchGuard’s IPR petition, which now clears the way for Digital to lift the stay that has been in place and restart the litigation against WatchGuard and proceed towards trial.
“We have been very pleased with the resounding victories we have repeatedly received from the Patent Office,” said Digital’s CEO, Stanton E. Ross. “We are now looking forward to proceeding with the litigations and obtaining victories in the District Court,” stated Ross. “As we noted before, our end goals in both the Axon and the WatchGuard litigation are to obtain a permanent injunction that will require the removal of these products and the infringing features from the market and receive compensation for the damages caused by the infringing parties,” concluded Ross.
About Digital Ally
Digital Ally®, headquartered in Lenexa, KS, specializes in the design and manufacturing of the highest quality video recording equipment and video analytic software. Digital Ally pushes the boundaries of technology in industries such as law enforcement, emergency management, commercial fleets, and consumer use. Digital Ally’s complete product solutions include in-car and body cameras, cloud and local management software, and automatic recording technology. These products work seamlessly together and are simple to install and operate. Digital Ally products are sold by domestic direct sales representatives and international distributors worldwide.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations or forecasts of future events, can be affected by inaccurate assumptions, and are subject to various business risks and known and unknown uncertainties, a number of which are beyond the control of management. Therefore, actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. A wide variety of factors that may cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: whether the Company will achieve positive outcomes in its patent litigation against various parties, including Axon Enterprise, Inc. and WatchGuard; whether the Patent Office rulings will curtail, eliminate or otherwise have an effect on the actions of Axon, WatchGuard and other parties respecting Digital Ally, its products and customers; whether the Company will be able to obtain permanent injunctions against Axon and WatchGuard; competition from larger, more established companies with far greater economic and human resources; its ability to attract and retain customers and quality employees; the effect of changing economic conditions; and changes in government regulations, tax rates and similar matters. These cautionary statements should not be construed as exhaustive or as any admission as to the adequacy of the Digital’s disclosures. It cannot predict or determine after the fact what factors would cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements or other statements. The reader should consider statements that include the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "projects", "should", or other expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events or trends, to be uncertain and forward-looking. Digital Ally does not undertake to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional information respecting factors that could materially affect the Digital and its operations are contained in its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.