Karbon Arms Prevails over Taser in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona

January 26, 2012
Market Watch, Wall Street Journal

TAMPA, Fla., Jan 25, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Karbon Arms, a leader in electronic immobilization technology prevailed in the U.S. District Court. In the court filing, Taser International /quotes/zigman/85741/quotes/nls/tasr TASR -0.65% falsely accused Karbon Arms of violating a court ordered injunction. Karbon was vindicated of the baseless allegation by Rick Smith, Taser's CEO, that Karbon is "seeking to evade the Court's injunction through subversive means."

In the hearing to determine whether Karbon Arms is selling an infringing version of the Stinger Systems S-200 Judge James A. Teilborg ruled that the circuitry and operation of the devices are "unquestionably" different. As a result, the Court found that Taser has failed to prove that the Karbon MPID is not more than "colorably different" from the circuit in question. The injunction against Karbon is the result of the assets purchased from Stinger Systems by outbidding Taser in August 2010.

In addition to this victory, in December 2011, the U.S. Patent Office completed a re-examination of Karbon's patent number 7,778,005 and found in favor of Karbon Arms. Taser requested this re-examination in May 2011. Karbon Arms' CEO Robert Gruder stated, "These successful outcomes are proof that Karbon is prepared to defeat Taser's relentless attacks and attempts to corner the Electronic Immobilization Device market."

Matthew Pliskin, President of Karbon Arms, stated, "We are enjoying the momentum on both the legal and marketing fronts. This is an exciting time for Karbon Arms." In response to Taser's October 24, 2011 press release he added, "I am disappointed by Taser's unethical behavior and mischaracterization of Bob Gruder. He has worked tirelessly to produce a competitive product that exceeds the expectations of the marketplace."

Robert Gruder continued, "Taser has done everything in their power to prevent us from entering the marketplace. We will continue to bring our superior products to compete head to head with their offering. We hope the law enforcement community will now clearly see Taser's strategy. My message to Taser International and to Rick Smith is to focus on making a product that can be competitive with the Karbon MPID and you can save your shareholders lots of attorney's fees."

About Karbon Arms:

Karbon Arms is a leading provider of electronic immobilization products. Almost 100,000 individuals have been trained to use Karbon products. The Multi-Purpose Immobilization Device (MPID) is Karbon's flagship product. Innovative officer friendly features such as a cartridge eject system, 22 foot range cartridge, 345 nm laser, off-the-shelf batteries, and a rugged unibody frame construction accent the exterior of the MPID. Under the hood, the MPID utilizes patented technology that allows a safety designed constant current generator.

Effective, Durable, Affordable.

Departments nationwide have made the transition from traditional older immobilization technologies to the newer, cost effective Karbon MPID. Find out more at www.karbonarms.com or call 800-345-STUN

SOURCE: Karbon Arms