STOCKHOLM, Sweden, June 24, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- On June 22, 2004, Unilin Beheer, B.V. filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pergo in a U.S. federal court based on Unilin's U.S. Patent No. 6,490,836. The Unilin lawsuit has no merit and Pergo fully expects to prevail.
Pergo remains confident that its pioneering work in click joints was conducted well before the work claimed in Unilin's patent and that Unilin's patent cannot be upheld in view of Pergo's earlier work. Unilin is well aware of Pergo's earlier work.
Pergo has received numerous patents on its click joints and has pending infringement lawsuits in the U.S. against various click joint sellers since 2002, including major Unilin licensees Shaw Industries and Witex USA, Inc.
Trelleborg 2004-06-24 Pergo AB Corporate Communications
For further information, please contact: CEO -- Goran Bernhoff, phone number +46 410 36 31 00 CFO -- Staffan Soderqvist, phone number +46 410 36 31 00 SVP North America -- Anthony Sturrus, phone number +1 919 773 6000
Pergo is a laminate flooring company with leading market positions, particularly in Europe and the US. Net sales amounted to MSEK 2,799 (3,194) in full-year 2003 and the number of employees was 795 (784) as at December 31, 2003. Pergo developed laminate flooring at the end of the 1970s and launched the product in Europe during the 1980s. The company started sales in the US in 1994 and, to a smaller degree, in Asia in 1995 and Latin America in 1997. The company's products have been marketed under the Pergo(R) brand name since 1989. The company is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. For further information about Pergo, please visit our homepage www.pergo.com.
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