COO [LOGO]
Listed THE COOPER COMPANIES
NYSE
21062 Bake Parkway, Suite 200
NEWS RELEASE Lake Forest, CA 92630
888-822-2660
CONTACT: Fax: (949) 597-0662
Norris Battin
The Cooper Companies, Inc.
ir@coopercompanies.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cooper Company's Unit Receives Order in Wesley Jessen Patent
Infringement Litigation
LAKE FOREST, Calif., March 22, 2002 -- The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE: COO)
said today that its CooperVision contact lens unit had received an Order in its
pending lawsuit with Wesley Jessen involving U.S. Patent No. 4,668,240 (the '240
or Loshaek patent) related to cosmetic contact lenses. In the Order, the Court,
in resolving disputed terms in a Markman hearing, ruled that a chemical compound
called an "isocyanate" is the same as a chemical compound called a "urethane"
(with respect to the meaning of a portion of the '240 patent).
This ruling, if upheld, could support a portion of Wesley Jessen's position
regarding Cooper's violation of the patent, which expires on May 26, 2004.
CooperVision believes that the Order is erroneous and is confident that it will
prevail on appeal for the following reasons:
o The only expert to present views on the subject, Professor William
Risen Ph.D. of Brown University, stated, by declaration, that an
isocyanate is not a urethane. Professor Risen, however, was not
permitted to testify at the hearing.
o The various organic chemistry textbooks before the Court clearly
evidenced that an isocyanate is not a urethane; and
o The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office recognized that an isocyanate is
not a urethane when it granted U.S. Patent No. 5,713,963 with full
knowledge of Wesley-Jessen's '240 patent.
Cooper also said that it plans to move quickly to file a motion for a summary
judgment of invalidity of the other patent in the suit, U. S. Patent No.
5,414,477 (the Jahnke patent.)
Forward-Looking Statements
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Some of the information included in this news release contains "forward-looking
statements" as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements include all statements regarding anticipated growth
in our revenue, anticipated market conditions and results of operations. To
identify forward-looking statements look for words like "believes," "expects,"
"may," "will," "should," "seeks," "intends," "plans,"
"estimates" or "anticipates" and similar words or phrases. Discussions of
strategy, plans or intentions often contain forward-looking statements. These,
and all forward-looking statements, necessarily depend on assumptions, data or
methods that may be incorrect or imprecise.
Events, among others, that could cause actual results and future actions to
differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements include
major changes in business conditions, a major disruption in the operations of
our manufacturing facilities, new competitors or technologies, the impact of an
undetected virus on our computer systems, acquisition integration delays or
costs, foreign currency exchange exposure, investments in research and
development and other start-up projects, dilution to earnings per share from
acquisitions or issuing stock, regulatory issues, changes in tax laws,
significant environmental cleanup costs above those already accrued, litigation
costs including any related settlements, cost of business divestitures, the
requirement to provide for a significant liability or to write off a significant
asset, changes in accounting principles or estimates, and other factors
described in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the
"Business" section in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October
31, 2001. We caution investors that forward-looking statements reflect our
analysis only on their stated date. We disclaim any intent to update them except
as required by law.
Corporate Information
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The Cooper Companies, Inc. and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market
specialty healthcare products. Corporate offices are located in Lake Forest and
Pleasanton, Calif. A toll free interactive telephone system at 1-800-334-1986
provides stock quotes, recent press releases and financial data. The Cooper
Companies' World Wide Web address is www.coopercos.com.
CooperVision, Inc., markets a broad range of contact lenses for the vision care
market. Headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif., it manufactures in Huntington
Beach, Calif., Rochester, N.Y., Norfolk, VA, Adelaide, Australia, Farnborough
and Hamble, England, Madrid, Spain and Toronto. Its Web address is
www.coopervision.com. CooperSurgical, Inc., with operations in Trumbull, Conn.,
Hollywood, Fla., Malmo, Sweden, Montreal and Berlin, markets diagnostic
products, surgical instruments and accessories for the gynecological market. Its
Web address is www.coopersurgical.com.