Lenexa, KS, Nov. 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Digital Ally, Inc. (NASDAQ: DGLY) today announced that the Federal District Court of Kansas has rejected the request of Axon Enterprise, Inc. (“Axon,” formerly known as TASER International, Inc.) to maintain the stay of the patent lawsuit brought by Digital against it. With this significant ruling, the parties will now proceed towards trial.
The U.S. Patent Office previously had rejected Axon’s attempts to invalidate Digital’s Patent No. 9,253,452 (the “’452 Patent”) through two separate petitions for inter partes review (“IPR”). This was Axon’s final attempt to invalidate the ‘452 Patent before the Patent Office. Despite its loss before the Patent Office, Axon desperately sought to convince the Court to maintain the stay of the litigation to avoid answering to Digital and a jury for its willful infringement of Digital’s ‘452 Patent. On Friday, November 17, 2017, the Court rejected Axon’s request and lifted the stay of the litigation. In ruling on the motion regarding the stay, the Court found that the evidence submitted by Digital “weigh heavily against continuing the stay of the ‘452 patent” and that “the Court denies Defendant’s [Axon’s] request to continue the stay of this case with respect to the ‘452 patent.” The Court has set a hearing for December 14, 2017, to discuss a schedule for moving the case forward to trial.
“We are very pleased with the Court’s ruling. This is a significant win for us that vindicates the positions we have taken,” said Digital’s CEO, Stanton E. Ross. “The ‘452 Patent represents a pioneering invention that has become or is quickly becoming a standard feature utilized by the law enforcement industry. Axon has recognized the value of the ‘452 Patent by incorporating our technology into its products and then trying to justify its wrongful actions by attempting to invalidate the Patent. With its efforts having been rejected by the Patent Office, and the Court rejecting Axon’s attempts to maintain the stay of the litigation, we can finally move this case forward towards trial where Axon will have to answer to a jury for its conduct. We hope these favorable rulings by the Federal District Court and the Patent Office will clear the confusion of the many customers who have relied upon Axon’s assertions that it could deliver the auto-activation technology covered by Digital Ally’s patents that Axon wrongfully incorporated into its own products,” 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.; whether the Patent Office rulings will curtail, eliminate or otherwise have an effect on the actions of Axon and other parties respecting Digital Ally, its products and customers; 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.