WEST CHESTER, Pa., June 22 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network — MEI announced that its parent company Mars Inc. filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New Jersey against Japan Cash Machine Co. Ltd. of Japan (JCM) and its subsidiary JCM American
Corp. alleging infringement of the company’s protected rights to several
inventions. MEI has consistently designed and developed differentiated
products that deliver value to its customers. Creating the technology for
these products requires significant research & development investment that is
protected by patents for MEI and its customers.
The complaint states that the JCM Universal Bill Acceptor series infringes
at least two patents that cover the MEI Cashflow SC bill acceptor and other
MEI currency validation products. U.S. patent laws allow the owner of a patent
to stop the manufacture, importation, sale and/or use of products in the
United States that are found to infringe, and the action against JCM seeks
this type of specific relief.
According to MEI’s President, Mike Hayes, “We always strive to provide the
best products for our customers. In the case of our currency validation
products we believe they create millions of dollars of additional value for
our customers due to their unique design and performance attributes. A major
source of our competitive advantage in these products resides in the
intellectual property created by our engineers and other associates which are
protected by patents.”
About MEI
Today, MEI systems are relied upon for more than 1 billion transactions
per week in 90 countries. The company developed the first electronic coin
mechanism in the 1960s, followed by the first electronic non-contact bill
acceptor, and more recently its vending management system. Today MEI has the
largest worldwide installed base of unattended payment mechanisms. In 2004,
MEI reached a milestone of selling more than 3.5 million bill acceptors, 4.5
million coin mechanisms and 1 million control boards worldwide. Its products
are in widespread use in the vending, soft drink, gaming, amusement,
transportation, retail, and kiosk markets. For more information on MEI and its
products, visit http://www.meiglobal.com or call 1-800-345-8215.http://www.meiglobal.com
