Sercel to Appeal to the US Federal Court

CGGVeritas issued this press release today to clarify the current status of the patent lawsuit between its subsidiary Sercel Inc. and ION Geophysical (“ION”) on U.S. Patent No. 5,852,242.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas entered its final judgment and permanent injunction with regards to the patent lawsuit between Sercel and ION on February 16, 2011. Sercel has and will continue to challenge the verdict and any adverse judgment and injunction as well as any claim for damages by ION. This judgment will be appealed to the United States Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

The injunction exclusively covers the Sercel digital sensor “DSU” technology and is limited to the territory of United States. It does not restrict Sercel to use, manufacture, sell or deliver the DSU products anywhere else in the world. It also does not relate to the Sercel 408UL and 428XL recording systems. Sercel can continue to promote, sell and deliver these systems in the United States.

Specifically, the injunction states that the offer to sell the DSU when the manufacture, sale and delivery occur outside the United States does not constitute an act of infringement or a violation of the injunction. Furthermore, the promotion or marketing of the DSU technology in the United States does not violate the injunction when the manufacture, sale and delivery occur outside of the United States.