NORCROSS, Ga., March 22, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EasyLink Services International Corporation ("EasyLink" or "Company") (Nasdaq:ESIC) (www.easylink.com), a global provider of comprehensive messaging services and e-commerce solutions, today announced that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against j2 Global Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:JCOM). The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleges that j2 Global ("j2") infringes U.S. Patent No. 5,872,640 entitled "Facsimile Form Generation System" and U.S. Patent No. 7,804,823 entitled "Systems and Methods for Communicating Documents Via an Autonomous Multi-Function Peripheral Device."
EasyLink is seeking monetary damages for past infringement, injunctive relief prohibiting j2 from continuing to infringe the patents, among other remedies.
In addition, EasyLink continues to vigorously defend itself in a patent infringement case filed by j2 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ("the Court"). As recently announced by j2, the Court issued a Markman ruling that addressed the meaning of certain disputed claim terms in one of the three patents it asserted against EasyLink. However, the Court has not issued a Markman ruling in the other two asserted patents. In addition, j2 has sought permission to amend its complaint to add an additional patent claim against EasyLink ("the '066 patent"). The Court has not yet ruled on that issue. Because the '066 patent was not previously asserted against EasyLink, EasyLink did not participate in the claim construction process for that patent and will seek an independent opportunity to do so if necessary.
Most importantly, the Court's recent Markman ruling did not address any issues of infringement and validity and did not limit any of EasyLink's defenses against these claims.
"We remain confident in our position that EasyLink does not infringe any valid patent rights of j2, and we look forward to the opportunity to present our defenses to the Court and, if necessary, to a jury," said Thomas J. Stallings, Chief Executive Officer of EasyLink.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
Except for the historical information and discussion contained herein, statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These and other risk factors are set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Company's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available on a website maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.
The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About EasyLink Services International Corporation
EasyLink Services International Corporation (EasyLink) (Nasdaq:ESIC), headquartered in Norcross, GA, offers a comprehensive portfolio of "any to any" business messaging and transaction services that can bridge the most challenging technology gaps while creating significant cost efficiencies across an organization. From Desktop Fax and Production Messaging to EDI, Managed File Transfer, Document Capture and Management, Secure Messaging and Telex we help companies drive costs out of their operations. With over two decades of servicing customers around the globe, EasyLink has established a proven track record for providing effective, reliable and secure communications. For more information on EasyLink, visit www.easylink.com.
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