Avocent, ClearCube reach pact on patents

Huntsville-based Avocent Corp. said Wednesday it has reached a patent agreement with ClearCube Technology Inc., ending nearly three years of litigation.

Under the terms of the agreement, Austin, Texas-based ClearCube will license some of Avocent's technologies, and will evaluate other technologies with Avocent's Desktop Solutions division for potential licensing.

Terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed.

In October 2003, Avocent sued ClearCube alleging patent infringement. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

Teddy Blankenship, Avocent's senior vice president of finance, said the agreement covers existing patents. The companies are still negotiating licensing agreements for Avocent's next-generation technology, which will go to market next year.

Avocent makes products that allow a single user to control multiple computers from a remote location. ClearCube develops extension systems enabling users to operate a terminal, keyboard and mouse from a location separate from the central processing unit. The technology has applications in manufacturing, health care and other industries, Blankenship said.

John R. Cooper, Avocent's chairman and CEO, said he doesn't expect the agreement to have any impact on expected revenue for the remainder of 2006. Terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed.

The agreement "provides us with the opportunity to work with ClearCube to develop new technologies and applications in the desktop, workstation, client blade, and desktop area network environments, areas where our Desktop Solutions division is working to develop new technology," Cooper said.

During the second quarter of 2005, Avocent subsidiary Apex Inc. settled a patent infringement suit against Raritan Computer Inc. filed in May 2001.

Avocent shares, traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol AVCT, closed at $27.26, down 46 cents, or 1.66 percent.