CompactGTL's permission to appeal refused

RNS Number : 5921B

Velocys PLC

08 January 2015

 

8^th January 2014

Velocys plc

("Velocys" or "the Company")

CompactGTL's permission to appeal refused

Velocys plc (VLS.L), the company at the forefront of smaller scale gas-to-liquids (GTL), announces that the UK Court of Appeal has refused CompactGTL's permission to appeal in relation to the IP infringement case brought against it by the Company. 

As announced on 22^nd September 2014, the UK High Court upheld the validity of the two patents in suit (known as '508 and '509), and found CompactGTL to be infringing both patents - six separate patent claims in total.

CompactGTL's request for appeal concerning the judgement of validity and infringement on patent '509 has now been denied. Whilst, CGTL may still appeal the court's findings on the '508 patent, the UK Court of Appeal's recent decision means that a judgement of infringement (at least on the '509 patent) is upheld and therefore an injunction restraining CompactGTL will remain in force (see RNS dated 3 October 2014). Determination by the court of damages (or an account of profits) to Velocys is continuing.

Velocys has a very substantial patent portfolio comprising more than 900 patents, covering a broad range of countries, which protects key inventions relevant to smaller scale GTL. The Company also holds a significant inventory of trade-secrets which it has gained through years of development and practice.

Equivalents of the two patents in this case have also been approved in numerous other jurisdictions around the world, including places where smaller scale GTL might be deployed, such as the United States and Canada, and countries where FT reactors and other associated equipment might be manufactured, such as Japan and South Korea.

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For further information, please contact:

Velocys Roy Lipski, CEO Susan Robertson, CFO	[phone] [phone]
Numis Securities (Nomad and Broker) Alex Ham - Corporate Broking Stuart Skinner / Jamie Lillywhite - Nominated Adviser	[phone]
Camarco (financial communications & PR) Billy Clegg / Georgia Mann	[phone]

Notes to editors

Velocys is the company at the forefront of smaller scale gas-to-liquids (GTL) that turns natural gas into premium liquid products such as diesel and jet fuel. Smaller scale GTL adds value to shale gas and makes stranded or flared gas economic - an untapped market of up to 25 million barrels per day.

Velocys technology, protected by over 900 patents, is specifically designed for smaller scales, combining super-active catalysts with intensified reactor systems. The Company's standardised modular plants are easier to ship and faster to install, at lower risk, even in the most remote or challenging locations. Together with world-class partners, Velocys works flexibly to unlock gas resources of 15,000 to 150,000 mmbtu per day, allowing more companies to take advantage of more opportunities.

Velocys plc is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE: VLS). The Company is well capitalised with some $100 million of cash, and has a multi-disciplinary staff of over 100 operating from its commercial centre in Houston, Texas, USA and technical facilities near Oxford, UK and Columbus, Ohio, USA. Its first commercial plant, funded by Waste Management (NYSE: WM), NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) and Ventech Engineers, is on track to enter full production by Q2 2016.

www.velocys.com

Think Smaller^™. Velocys is changing the way fuels are made.

 

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