District Court rules in favor of The MathWorks in National Instruments patent case

JANUARY 19--The US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has denied the National Instruments (Austin, TX;www.ni.com) motion to find The MathWorks (Natick, MA; www.mathworks.com) modified Simulink product in contempt of the Court's prior rulings. The MathWorks took steps in September 2004 to modify Simulink so that it would comply with an earlier court decision in connection with patent litigation that National Instruments brought against The MathWorks' Simulink product. The MathWorks stopped selling an earlier version of Simulink and is now selling a modified version in a service pack (R14SP1) that contains changes related to the patent litigation. The modified version of Simulink (R14SP1) eliminated certain features so as not to infringe National Instruments' patents.

An earlier Court decision affirmed that customers can continue to use previously purchased Simulink products that do not contain the patent-related modifications and that The MathWorks can continue to provide technical support for these products.

The MathWorks remains fully committed to the Simulink product family and, consistent with the Court's prior decision, will continue to sell, support, and enhance it. The MathWorks will defend itself against any further legal proceedings that National Instruments brings.