FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, CA, May 16, 2003 - After more than two years of litigation, today the United States District Court for the Central District of California threw out all of the remaining patent infringement claims against Birchwood Lighting’s SYDNEY Field Curvable lighting system following a four day trial in Los Angeles. Judge Percy Anderson granted Birchwood Lighting’s motion for a directed verdict based on the lack of evidence by Lighting World necessary to prove the allegations of patent infringement. As a result, all claims against Birchwood Lighting have now been dismissed without any finding of liability or any award of damages.

History
Approximately two years ago, on the final day of Lightfair International 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Birchwood Lighting, Inc. was served with a lawsuit brought by Lighting World, Inc. (the parent company of Belfer Lighting).  The lawsuit alleged that Birchwood Lighting’s SYDNEY Field Curvable lighting system infringed on two separate patents held by Lighting World/Bruce Belfer.  “We have maintained from day one that the suit was a baseless attempt by Lighting World to eliminate us as competition”, claimed Darrin Weedon, Birchwood Lighting’s President.  He went on to say that, “Anyone who has seen the two products will tell you that SYDNEY is not only far different, but far superior to the other.  The wide acceptance of SYDNEY has shown that the lighting specification community appreciates the innovative design of SYDNEY.  After two long years, this vindication marks a truly great day in the history of Birchwood Lighting.” 

In a related matter, Birchwood Lighting recently received word from the United States Patent and Trademark Office that it will be receiving a patent on the VERSACURVE connector designed by Darrin Weedon.

Birchwood Lighting was represented in the litigation by patent litigators Mark Wine and Ellie Hourizadeh of the Los Angeles office of the international law firm McDermott, Will & Emery.

About SYDNEY
SYDNEY is a field curvable lighting system utilizing compact fluorescent or incandescent lamps.  SYDNEY can be curved to any desired shape in the field without the use of any tools.  Aside from its limitless curvability, an important feature of SYDNEY is that the overall length is also adjustable in the field without requiring any specialized tools or cutting.  SYDNEY has been used in hotels, schools, hospitals, restaurants, high-end residences and many other locations where superior light output is required in a curved space.

About Birchwood Lighting, Inc.
Birchwood Lighting is a leading manufacturer of linear lighting products for architectural applications.  Other fixture lines by Birchwood Lighting include ASHLEY Shadow-Free Cove Lighting and The WP SYSTEM Mild-to-Wild strip fixtures.  Birchwood Lighting is currently celebrating its 10^th year of business.

For more information:
Contact the factory at 714.550.7118
www.BirchwoodLighting.com

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