Reports That No Infringement Occurred Are Inaccurate as ITC Affirms Both Overland Storage Patents Are Valid

Overland Storage

today announced that Administrative Law Judge Charles Bullock of the U.S. International Trade Commission ("ITC") has issued a 125-page, full version of the Initial Determination that explains his reasoning in detail. The full Initial Determination is confidential and only the attorneys in the ITC action are able to review it. However, on June 22, 2012, attorneys for Overland Storage filed an emergency motion with the ALJ to obtain permission to share more information about the full Initial Determination with Overland Storage and the public. "It has been reported that Judge Bullock's Initial Determination found no infringement of both of Overland's asserted patents," said Sean Cunningham, DLA Piper partner and lead counsel for Overland Storage. "Although we cannot yet disclose any of the details of the full Initial Determination, I can tell you that those reports are inaccurate." On June 21, 2012, Overland Storage announced that the ALJ had issued a public notice of an Initial Determination affirming that both of Overland's asserted patents are valid, but found that BDT had not committed a violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the statute that governs ITC actions. Section 337 is the statue under which ITC actions are brought for importing or selling of infringing products into the United States. There are additional legal requirements to find a Section 337 violation that are not requirements in finding infringement of a valid patent in a federal district court lawsuit. "We understand that the full Initial Determination of the ITC contains positive news for our ongoing litigation," said Eric Kelly, President and CEO of Overland Storage. "I can assure you that Overland plans to continue its lawsuit against BDT both in the ITC and in federal district court."