Align Technology Provides Update on Patent Litigation with Ormco C...( SANTA CLARA Calif. July 2...),Health

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Align Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALGN) today provided an update on the a lawsuit brought by Ormco Corporation (Ormco) against Align Technology, Inc. (Align) in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (District Court), which was tried by jury June 9 through June 25, 2009.

As previously disclosed, on June 26, 2009, the jury delivered a verdict against Align. Ormco alleged that Align infringed claims of Ormco's 6,616,444 patent. Align claimed non-infringement, invalidity, as well as unenforceability of the patent and equitable defenses. The jury found the claims asserted by Ormco in the 6,616,444 patent to be infringed and valid. The jury also issued an advisory verdict that Ormco did not engage in prosecution laches or unclean hands, equitable defenses raised by Align. The jury only determined liability. Any monetary damages will be determined in a later trial, which has not been schedule, but would likely occur in early 2010. The jury verdict does not preclude Align from selling its Invisalign System. We have not accrued any liability for the judgment related to the Ormco litigation as such amounts are not reasonably estimable at this time. This is due to a number of factors, including: that the Court has not yet entered judgment; that discovery regarding possible damages is a lengthy and time consuming process involving testimony of experts and has not yet begun; and that determining a reasonable royalty rate is highly fact specific and there are many complicated factors to consider in this case.

The Court requested and has received briefing on the equitable defenses raised by Align and is expected to rule on the equitable defenses later this week. Align believes the facts and the law do not support the jury's find
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