WEST CHESTER, Ohio, Oct. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) said today that the United States District Court for the District of Delaware again confirmed that the company's ULTRALUME® advanced high-strength steel product does not infringe upon an ArcelorMittal patent. The Court granted summary judgment in favor of AK Steel on October 25, 2013.
The Court further concluded that ArcelorMittal's patent was invalid due to ArcelorMittal's deliberate violation of a statutory prohibition on broadening a patent through reissue more than two years from the grant of the initial patent.
AK Steel's ULTRALUME® advanced high-strength steel helps automakers design lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles without sacrificing occupant safety. The product has been accepted for use by numerous automotive original equipment manufacturers, and is used for hot-stamped, press-hardened applications.
AK Steel
AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steels, primarily for automotive, infrastructure and manufacturing, construction and electrical power generation and distribution markets. The company employs about 6,100 men and women in Middletown, Mansfield, Coshocton and Zanesville, Ohio; Butler, Pennsylvania; Ashland, Kentucky; Rockport, Indiana; and its corporate headquarters in West Chester, Ohio. Additional information about AK Steel is available on the company's web site at www.aksteel.com.
AK Tube LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AK Steel, employs about 300 men and women in plants in Walbridge, Ohio and Columbus, Indiana. AK Tube produces carbon and stainless electric resistance welded (ERW) tubular steel products for truck, automotive and other markets. Additional information about AK Tube LLC is available on its web site at www.aktube.com.
AK Coal Resources, Inc., another wholly-owned subsidiary of AK Steel, produces metallurgical coal from reserves in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. AK Steel also owns 49.9% of Magnetation LLC, a joint venture headquartered in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, which produces iron ore concentrate from previously mined ore reserves.
SOURCE AK Steel