Nautique to pay royalties to Malibu to settle surfgate suit

From Malibu's 10Q:

On February 6, 2015, the Company and Nautique entered into the Nautique Settlement Agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by the Company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee alleging infringement by Nautique of three of the Company's patents. Under the terms of the Nautique Settlement Agreement, Nautique will make a one-time payment of $2.25 million and enter into a license agreement for the payment of future royalties for boats sold by Nautique using the licensed technology. The parties agreed to dismiss all claims in the patent litigation and jointly request the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to terminate the patent challenge.

Malibu Press Release:

"We are pleased to conclude the litigation between our companies in a manner that respects Malibu's patents," said Jack Springer, CEO of Malibu. "As Malibu continues to innovate and to build its patent portfolio, it is gratifying for us to reach a settlement with Nautique that recognizes the value of our patents and helps us to determine if others are infringing Malibu's IP." - See more at: http://globenewswire.com/news-releas....dYYwuucW.dpuf

Nautique Press Release:


NAUTIQUE AND MALIBU SETTLE PATENT LITIGATION

Posted On: 02/09/15
ORLANDO, FLA (February 9, 2015) – Today Nautique Boats announced a resolution of its patent litigation with Malibu. The resolution includes both parties dropping their claims and counterclaims. The resolution also includes Nautique entering a license agreement related to certain Malibu’s patents.

Nautique’s President and CEO Bill Yeargin stated, “Our team is happy to have this dispute behind us and look forward to building on Nautique’s award winning product and market share increases of the past few years.” “While we felt strongly about our position in this dispute we also know there is risk associated with the judicial process. We are satisfied with the settlement and look forward to growing our industry for everyone’s benefit,” Yeargin added.

http://www.nautique.com/Press/index/...ent-litigation